


I'm A Naga!?

by Wherever_Girl



Category: Cartoon Crossovers, Multicrossover - Fandom, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game), Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Video Game), Persona Series
Genre: Eventual Fluff, Naga fiction, Other, Passion project, Transformation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2019-11-01 09:53:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 60,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17865107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wherever_Girl/pseuds/Wherever_Girl
Summary: After a trip down to the Vault of Tears results in them being cursed, Swaine and Khunbish find themselves becoming Nagas! (Doesn't help that Swaine hates snakes). Now they must find a way to break the spell... or get used to slithering everywhere for the rest of their lives.A multi-crossover featuring a self-inserted authoress, a few cameo appearances, and reviewers no doubt going... "What the heck am I reading?"





	1. Chapter 1

It was one of those days where he knew something weird was going to happen… he just wasn’t prepared for whatever it was.

And considering he was walking through the Vault of Tears with Wherever Girl--- one of the most insane Authors ever to find access to fanfiction sites--- he should have been more cautious.

Authors, by definition, were fans that had the ability to make whatever story come to life; sometimes to put their favorite characters on a new adventure, sometimes to go on an adventure themselves, often to harass certain characters deemed worthy of picking on (Lord Voldemort dealt with this 101 times through several stories in the past), or… abuse their power in ways that he’d rather not think about.

And considering Wherever Girl, or ‘WG’ as friends called her, had a tendency to be unpredictable with plot elements, he had a reason to be cautious every time he wound up in one of her stories. Every time the woman entered the Tooniverse/Gamiverse/Noveltiverse or what-have-you, everyone knew one thing:

_Shit’s about to go down._

“Why are we down here again?” Junpei Iori asked, walking beside Ryuji Sakamoto; why she invited a couple boys from the _Persona Series_ fandom to tag along, he didn’t know… actually the real mystery was why they hung out with the crazy girl in the first place.

(Then again, considering he was here too, Swaine had no reason for any smart remarks).

“I lost my keys down here,” WG answered, peering around.

“Should I ask why you were down here in the first place?” Swaine asked, always a bit paranoid whenever WG was in his world.

“We’s was exploring parts of your world,” Khunbish—a sky pirate from _Ni no Kuni II_ \--- answered. “I had never seen your side of our fandom before, so I asked her if she’d like to go exploring,” he turned and looked at Ryuji. “It was just the two of us~”

Ryuji sneered. “Oh, did her BOYFRIEND know?” he retorted.

Junpei and Swaine exchanged eye rolls. Ever since the day the two met WG, they had somewhat of a rivalry. The girl had a habit of pinpointing a character to fangirl over--- and for _Persona 5_ she chose Ryuji (who always welcomed a fan-girl), and for _Ni no Kuni II_ she chose Khunbish (who didn’t think he’d have any). …And any time one of them would get flirty, the other would bring up the fact that she already had a boyfriend (a Time Lord, of all the luck!), if not end up swapping insults that would end in a scrap.

Frankly, their fandom partners found it both amusing and ridiculous. “Just keep your eyes out for the keys, dudes.” Junpei told both of them. “So, where’s your boyfriend at now, anyway?”

“Zane travelled to the _Kingdom Hearts_ dimension--- apparently he was so excited to find out about [ _spoilers for Kingdom Hearst 3 withheld]_ that he wanted to go see _[character name withheld]_ …He’s pretty sentimental about what happened in the previous games,” WG answered.

“I see… so, where do you think you lost your keys at? This place makes my skin crawl,” Swaine responded.

Junpei smirked. “Not a big fan of _snakes,_ are we?” he asked, while tickling the back of Swaine’s neck.

The thief gave a jolt, turning and shoving the baseball player back. “Knock that off! …I just hate returning to places that hold uncomfortable memories. I was turned into a frog here, once!”

“Hey, I ended up croaking too, but ye don’t see me getting my knickers in a twist,” Khunbish scoffed.

“Khunbish… do you remember what _getting shot_ felt like?!”

“Girls, girls, you’re all pretty. Now how about we split up and search?” WG stated. “Khunbish and I didn’t go too deep in, so it shouldn’t take us very long.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Junpei replied with a shrug. “So… who wants to go with who?”

“I’ll go with WG!” Khunbish and Ryuji both exclaimed with hands in the air. The sky pirate glared at the track star, who sneered back.

“Khunbish, you go with Ryuji and Junpei. Swaine and I will go together,” WG stated.

“But… but… ohh..” Khunbish groaned.

“Aw man…” Ryuji griped.

Walking down separate steps, everyone made their way through the ruins. Swaine kept his hand near his pistol; out of all locations, the Vault of Tears gave him chills the most. Because of the frog curse? …Irritating, but not startling. Because it was dark, damp and dreary? …Not exactly the case, though he had seen prison cells that looked better. …Because of the boss fight with Aapep? Somewhat…

He gasped when they turned a corner, and a snake-statue was glaring at them. “You okay, Swaine?” WG asked.

“Yeah, just thought I saw something,” the thief replied, keeping it cool. Unbeknownst to others, he HATED snakes. Sure, the Naja familiars they had weren’t too bad… but actual snakes? Not exactly what he’d consider fine company.

WG’s foot hit something, and with a ‘clink’ sound, she watched as her keys dropped into a pool of water! “Confound it…” she sighed, watching as they sunk to the bottom. She took off her jacket, handing it to Swaine. “Hold this,”

Swaine watched as WG jumped into the water… but it was 15 foot drop, and sadly the authoress didn’t have the lung capacity to reach that deep; she had only swam 7 feet down before she had to swim up for air. “It’s no use… can you use your gun to grab them?” she asked the thief.

“I can try,” Swaine replied, taking aim once the authoress climbed out. Pulling the trigger, he activated the grappling-hook mechanism on his pistol, snagging onto something and pulling it up.

It wasn’t WG’s keys, but rather a strange looking statue. It looked like a man, but with the body of a serpent, holding a spear. “The hell is this?” Swaine asked.

“Obviously not my car keys… Funny, they never mentioned something like this in the game,” WG replied, studying the statue.

“Probably one of the ‘throwaway ideas’ they had--- a lot of writers would have an idea, but would either alter it or scrap it if it didn’t fit the story.” Swaine took aim again, shooting once more--- only to pick up a wet stone.

Hearing the gunshots, Junpei, Ryuji and Khunbish ran over. “What’s going on?” Junpei asked.

“We found my keys--- they just fell into this pool,” WG muttered. “Swaine’s helping me fish them out,”

“…With little success,” Swaine grimaced, tossing aside an old shoe he snagged.

“Tch, it ain’t that deep. I can fish ‘em out for ya,” Khunbish replied, taking off his vest and hat, handing them to Junpei. “Hold these for me, would ya lad?”

“I-I can get them quicker than you can! Swimming isn’t that much different than running!” Ryuji replied, taking off his jacket and shoving it into Junpei’s arms. “Hang on to this for me, man.”

“With that bum leg of yours? I HIGHLY doubt it!”

“Just watch!”

Rushing forth, the two dived right in with a couple large splashes (dousing the others in the process), swimming to the bottom. “…How much you wanna bet they’ll drown fighting for your keys?” Junpei asked WG.

Within the minute, the two surfaced--- though kept trying to dunk each other as they had both grabbed the keys. “Let go! *gurgle gurgle*/Knock it off! *blub*” they snapped at each other.

*Bang!*

The two flinched when Swaine shot his gun, prying the keys from their hands and handing them to WG. “There. NOW may we leave?!” the thief demanded.

“Sure… unless anyone else wants to practice their diving?” WG quipped.

Ryuji and Khunbish climbed out, Junpei handing their stuff back to them. As they headed up the stairs towards the exit, they noticed the little statue WG was holding. “Hey, Wherever-san, what’s with the statue?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “I dunno. I figure I’d take it to Prince Ali and Yasmina to see if they would know anything about it… otherwise I can see if Zane would like it as a figurine,”

“Oh, no no no no!” Swaine scolded, taking the statue away from her. “There is NO WAY we’re taking something from this place! Have you forgotten that this place had been cursed?!”

“Aye, but the curse was broken after ye defeated Aapep, right?” Khunbish asked.

“I’m still not taking any chances. We don’t know what this thing is, or what it might do. It stays here!”

The Sky Pirate followed him. “Oh come on! You’re just being a pansy!” Khunbish went to grab the statue, but ended up knocking it out of his hand!

Shattering on the ground, green dust exploded onto them; coughing and waving away the plume, the two backed away. “Oh--- now see what you did, you idiot?!”

“Way to go, Khun-bitch, you broke it!” Ryuji scoffed.

“Shut it, Ryu-jerk!” Khunbish snapped while coughing. “What is this stuff?!”

“It’s obviously a hex!” Swaine snapped, brushing the dust off him as fast as possible.

“W-What’s it gonna do?” Junpei asked in caution, taking a step back.

“The hell if I know!”

“Everyone calm down! Just… give it a minute,” WG stated firmly. “Whatever happens, we’re in a world of magic--- someone would know how to reverse… whatever that happens.”

Swaine and Khunbish remained still, though the latter trembled in anxiety, the former cringing and expecting the worse.

A minute passed. Then five. …Eventually it got to the point where everyone had to sit down during the wait.

“I don’t think it was a hex,” Junpei deadpanned, while Ryuji was eating a sandwich and WG was lying on the ground counting cracks in the ceiling.

“It was probably a bunch of old dust. Heck, maybe it was green because moss built up inside it somehow,” Ryuji guessed.

“M-Maybe… The last time we were cursed, it acted immediately.” Swaine surmised, relaxing with a shaky breath.

“That’s a relief… Batu would skin me alive if I went back to Evermore with a hex over my head,” Khunbish sighed.

“Well, now that that’s settled, shall we head out?” WG asked. She opened a portal, and they followed her through.

…

Down the stairs, the eyes of the Aapep statue glowed.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After a long day, Swaine was quick to hit the mattress once he returned to Hamelin… but his sleep was anything but pleasant.

He thrashed in his sleep, his body aching, breaking out in a fever. In his dreams, he heard hissing, seeing only the snake statue glaring back at him.

It was enough to make him sit up in bed, hyperventilating. He rubbed his face, wiping sweat off his brow. _Just a stupid nightmare… dumb authoress had to have us go down in that damn place…_ the thief thought, easing back and stretching out.

He paused, shifting… something didn’t feel right. He tried moving his legs…

Something wiggled underneath his blanket. He ripped it off---

And screamed.

Upon hearing his cry, Marcassin raced into his brother’s room. “Gascon! What’s the matter?” he gasped.

Swaine… held up a tiny lizard. “It appears I had a stowaway in my jacket,” he muttered, walking out and heading to the indoor gardens.

His brother followed, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. “From the sound of your distress, I was afraid something had happened to you,”

“Nahh, just found a lizard in my sheets is all. I blame myself--- I let WG drag me to the Vault of Tears, and that’s undoubtedly when this little guy slithered in,” As if in response, the lizard flicked its tongue out at him, making him grimace a bit.

Once they reached the gardens, Swaine released the tiny reptile into the foliage, watching it scurry off. In a new light, Marcassin observed him. “Are you sure you’re alright, brother? You seem a little pale,”

“Probably coming down with something. I had some nasty fever dreams before I woke up,” Swaine rubbed the back of his neck, finding it was still warm. In fact, his whole body felt warm. “I feel like I’m still burning up…”

“I’ll get you some medicine and an ice-pack. It is the dead of winter, so plenty of illnesses are to be expected--- there’s a chance you may have caught the flu or a cold,”

“…So long as I don’t wind up exploding from both ends like a busted fire hydrant…”

Marcassin rolled his eyes at the vulgar remark, seeing Swaine back to his room; as promised, he brought him some medicine to help with his fever, and an ice-pack to help him cool down.

Settled back in bed, Swaine closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.


	2. The Worst Way to Start A Morning

The next morning, Swaine felt his fever had broken… namely because the air around him felt freezing! “Ah… Ah… Atchoo!” he sneezed. He rubbed his face, feeling his forehead--- he didn’t feel so hot anymore, but he couldn’t say he was feeling better.

He climbed out of bed, deciding some coffee and breakfast would help. He felt extra hungry this morning, though blamed it on the fact that he had spent most of his afternoon yesterday going spelunking with that crazy authoress and company. As he walked, he found himself sluggish; strange, it wasn’t that early in the morning… but due to the fact that he woke up in the middle of the night finding a lizard in his bed, sleep deprivation no doubt played a part in his lingering grogginess.

“Your highness, you have a visitor this morning.” One of the grunts informed him on his way to the dining room. Behind him stood the crazy authoress herself, WG.

“WG? What are you doing here?” Swaine questioned.

“I came to see if you were feeling alright. …See, after you left, we all went and saw _Bumblebee_ last night--- by the way, it was pretty good--- but by the time we left the theater, Khunbish started feeling sick to the point where he could barely walk! We got him home, and he had a high fever--- like, his entire body was hot! (and I don’t mean that in a fan-girl way)”

“So, just because someone got sick, you came to check on me?”

“Not exactly. He had some weird fever dreams too--- he was crying out in his sleep, something about a snake statue,”

Swaine paused. This sounded like his predicament last night… “So? I’m surprised everyone didn’t have nightmares about snake statues after being in that place!”

“I think it might have been that green stuff that covered you two. Zane said when it comes to certain old relics, special herbal powders were put inside them in order to make marauders sick.” She looked at him. “So… you’re feeling okay?”

The thief let out a heavy sigh, but had to give a small grin. Despite her crazy nature, the woman was known for caring about her friends—even if she had a tendency to fret over little things. He patted her shoulder. “Yeah, I’m okay. …The only trouble I had was a lizard found its way in my bed,”

“Lucky lizard,” WG joked.

Marcassin came around the corner. “Oh, Gascon, I was coming to check on you. Are you feeling better? …Ah, hello, Wherever Girl.”

WG gawked and looked at Swaine. “So you WERE sick!”

“I’m fine now!” Swaine defended.

“How did you figure out he was sick?” Marcassin asked WG. She told him about their exploration of the Vault of Tears, skipping to the part where Khunbish and Swaine ended up breaking a statue and green dust exploded around the two of them; then, last night, the Sky Pirate was feeling ill. “…This could be serious. Do you remember what it smelled like? If we can pinpoint its scent, it might be easier to deduce what had been inside that statue.”

Swaine only shrugged. “Just a dusty smell, it didn’t have a noxious odor.”

Marcassin continued to ponder. “I will have to look this up. If any more symptoms occur, please tell me immediately--- I will be in the library,” with that, he went down another hallway.

WG looked at Swaine. “You guys have a library??” she asked.

The thief rolled his eyes. “…We don’t carry any mangas or the _Goosebumps_ series, if that’s what you’re getting at,” they both walked down the hallway, heading to the dining room. “So now that you see I’m fine, why don’t you go see how Khunbish is faring?”

“Tch, no way. Not until Marcassin deduces what you two got into,”

“How do I know you’re not just using this as an excuse to… hang around?” He leaned against the wall, grogginess coming over him again.

The authoress looked at him, concerned. “Swaine? You okay?”

“Fine, I’m fine! Just… still tired, I didn’t sleep good last night.”

“Really? I have a hard time sleeping at night, too… but I never look so pale,”

“Tch, I’m ALWAYS pale--- especially when you’re around.”

“Well I’m no tanned-skin model either, but I’ve never been so sluggish in the mornings--- except when I have to get up for work at 5 AM… what time did you wake up this morning?”

“Ten minutes ago… b-but, I’m always tired no matter what time I get up, and the lack of sleep last night didn’t help--- ah!” Swaine took a knee, gripping one of his legs and wincing.

“W-What’s wrong?!”

“I-I don’t know, my leg just--- agh!” He held his other leg, wincing as pain shot through it next. “My legs are killing me…!”

WG looked up and down the hall, spotting a grunt. “HEY! Go get Marcassin! Something’s wrong with Gascon!” she called--- using Swaine’s prince name whenever she had to address him to the servants. The grunt nodded quickly and hurried off. In the meantime, she knelt by Swaine--- the man was curled up on the ground now! “Swaine…? H-Hang on, help is coming!”

“Bloody hell… what’s going on?!” Swaine moaned. He gasped, kicking his legs--- they suddenly felt like they were going stiff, and he could barely move them! He tried kicking, but they felt like they were sticking together… at the same time, he felt as if his bones were melding, the pain crawling from his hips to the tips of his toes.

WG held his hand--- damn! His grip was crushing her fingers! Tears were running down his eyes now as he cried out in pain, and she had to look away, unable to stand to see his face in such pain… but her gaze fell upon something much worse. “Oh… shit… what the fu…?!” she gasped.

The thief’s legs were morphed together, the fabric of his pants, socks and the leather of his shoes transmogrifying into scales of a dark-green color, stretching down the hall by a good 10--- no, 15 feet! Swaine himself made the mistake of looking back… and he screamed, not of pain this time, but of sheer horror! He pushed away from WG, thrashing around to get away from… whatever was attached to his lower half!

He tried to stand up--- he had to use the wall to support himself, looking back at the long, scaly tail-of-a-body that started at his thighs and trailed down. He flinched when the end of the tail flicked upwards, as if sensing he wanted to get a good look at it. “What… what the fuck?!” he yelped. He looked over at WG, who could only stand and stare.

It was at this moment Marcassin arrived with a couple grunts and a medic… who dropped her first-aid kit, as they all stared in shock. “G-Gascon…?! What happened?!” the young sage sputtered.

But his brother couldn’t speak, too deep in shock himself.

WG gulped, breaking the silence. “N-Not to cause any alarm (although, too late for that)… but… I think your brother just became a Naga,” she stated.

*THUD!*

“…aaaaand he passed out.”


	3. Lamian, Son of the Naga King!

The library in Goldpaw was a wonder to behold; bookshelves lined the walls, several scriptures reaching as high as the ceiling… but WG wasn’t here to browse around. She had to seek answers.

“Ah, hello young man! What brings a handsome youth to Boddly’s library?” Boddly, the elderly and fancifully-clad keeper of the tomes asked.

“Emperor Marcassin of Hamelin within the First Ni No Kuni realm has sent me,” WG answered, ignoring the fact that her gender had been mistaken--- which, quite honestly, she learned to live with over the years. “His brother, Prince Gascon, has been transformed into a Naga, and we could not find any information about the curse in their world. We were hoping your library might have the sources we need,”

“Ah, the Hamelin Sage--- yes, a very handsome man he is, Boddly knows him well. Any friend of his is welcome,” Boddly made a pose and gave a wink.

“Uh, thank you.” WG then began browsing the shelves.

No surprise, she saw someone else in the library--- Batu and Tani. “(Crazy, it is--- one minute he’s got two legs, now he’s slithering about!)” the Sky Pirate captain was muttering.

“(You mean he would be, if he were conscious,)” his daughter replied.

“Why do I get the feeling we’re all looking for the same thing?” WG asked, letting her presence be known to them.

“Wherever Girl! …What brings you here?” Tani asked. “Couldn’t keep from exploring the library, huh?”

WG rolled her eyes. “Funny, Tani--- I’ve already explored this place. Right now, I’m looking for something that can tell me about Naga curses and how to undo them,”

“Snakes alive!--- no pun intended--- So are we!” Batu answered. “…So, would ye mind filling me in ‘bout why my top-archer is half serpent?”

WG explained the situation to them, as they browsed the selves. The search took almost two hours, as it turns out there were a multitude of Naga indexes--- what happens if one is bit by a Naga, different types of Naga, what to do if swallowed whole by a Naga, how the Naga community sued ill-mannered peoples for using their name to re-pronounce a racial slur, and whether or not Nagas were hatched or birthed.

…WG ended up checking out 3 books.

Finally, they found an old scroll that held the information they needed. “ _’The curse of Lamian, Son of the Naga King,’”_ Tani read…

_“’Long ago, when the Wizard King had yet to be born, there lived a man named Gisa, who ruled his kingdom with an iron fist; he searched for dominance throughout the continent, his army large and trained to be ruthless._

_‘One day, when scouting out a city, Gisa spotted a young maiden on a palace balcony. Her name was Princess Ella, and he wanted her as his bride. He had his armies lay siege to the kingdom, claiming he would only give mercy if Ella would agree to marry him; with his army too powerful, the king had no choice but to hand his daughter over in marriage._

_‘Alas, Gisa’s victory did not go unpunished; Aapep, who served as the Guardian of the kingdom at the time (long before he vowed servitude to the Wizard King *see ‘History of Past Guardians, vol. 3’), placed a curse on Gisa for his cruelty and terrorism. “Should you force this fair maiden to continue your bloodline, your child will be born to be as much of a snake as his father!” he declared._

_‘Gisa did not heed his warning, for he planned to sire many women in his harem in order to continue his bloodline, including having Ella bare his child, getting her drunk on wine in order to know her_ (Sheesh, what a creep!) _*ahem* But his act became his downfall, for out of her womb came a being with the upper-body of a man, but the lower body of a serpent._

_‘Horrified by the child’s appearance, Gisa ordered it to be killed immediately; but even as a babe the child was too quick for capture, nor could he be poisoned, his scales as strong as steel. Gisa finally managed to lure his son into a dungeon, sealing him away for several years in order to ensure he rotted away._

_‘But Ella, who did not see her son as a monster, kept him alive by bringing him food throughout the years, speaking to him and singing songs for they soothed him; she even gave him a name: Lamian. Once he was big enough, she released him. “Your father’s reign of terror must come to an end. But if he sees you are free, surely he will seek your head,” she told him._

_‘However, Lamian was crafty, for Aapep’s curse not only gave him a sordid appearance, but also a special power. While his father slept, he created a powder from the shedding of his scales, throwing it upon Gisa; when the king awoke and saw him, he vanished quickly and hid away. Gisa, terrified that his son was out for vengeance, ordered his guards and all in the kingdom to kill the snake-bodied creature._

_‘By that afternoon, Gisa felt ill… and by nightfall, found himself with the lower body of a snake as well! Upon hearing his cries, all the guards rushed into his chambers--- they did not see his face, as they were focused on the scales, and without hesitation impaled him. Upon finding they had killed their own king, the guards were mortified, but did not mourn, for they claim they could never tell their king from a snake, and took to calling him ‘Nagisa, The Snake King’, or ‘The Naga King’._

_‘Lamian then took over the throne; he did not mind his appearance, finding it useful in many ways… and in time, his humanity shone through his scales. Finding himself becoming more human, he made a statue containing his powdered scales, should he ever need to transform again, the statue hidden away. As the years went by, he forgot about it, having grown use to being human; he took a wife, and they bore many children, who bore their own children, and so on and so forth, none of his descendants ever learning that, once upon a time, they had been related to the son of the Naga King.’”_

Everyone blinked. “…That’s it? No remedy? He just… turned human? What kind of crap is that?!” WG questioned.

“Well, that does it. I’ll have to get used to one o’ my men being half-snake,” Batu grunted.

“There HAS to be something more to it…” Tani stated, looking over the scroll again. “It said he didn’t mind his appearance… and that’s what helped him turn human.”

“So, what, it’s like a _Beauty and the Beast_ concept?” WG guessed.

“Let’s face it, lasses--- we didn’t find an answer here,” Batu sighed. “C’mon, might as well head out an’ tell th’ lads they’ll be slitherin’ for a while,”

“Funny… I always imagined Swaine as a Hufflepuff,” the authoress laughed, the two pirates giving her a look. “Get it? Slithering—Slytherin, it’s a house from Harry… Potter…? I’ll shut up now,”

With that, they left the library.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Swaine came to… and wasn’t happy to find his dilemma was a reality, having hoped it was just another twisted dream. Groaning, he tried to get up--- might as well get used to moving in a different way, he decided. Plus, he was hungry--- perhaps a bit of food would calm his nerves.

*thud!*

…that is, if he could go 2 feet without making a face-plant.

The door opened, and Junpei rushed in. “Oh man, so it happened to you, too!” he gasped.

“What are YOU doing here…?” Swaine questioned, propping himself up on his arms.

“Wherever-san, Ryu-kun and I came to see how Khunbish was doing this morning; he was pretty sick last night. Well, she came to see you first, and we hung around Evermore; when we got near the castle, we heard the guy screaming bloody murder! We ran in to see what was going on, and he was just sprawled out, ten feet of snake-tail trailing from his hips to the door! …He’s been passed out for the last two hours, so I came to see if you had the same thing going on--- WG said it might be because of that dust.”

Swaine rubbed his face. “So we all figured… Put that away!”

The baseball player had his phone out, lowering it. “I-I’m just texting Ryuji… Besides, Khunbish might like to know he’s not the only one suffering,”

“Junpei, I said put it away---!”

*whip!*

The teen gasped when the tip of Swaine’s tail flicked forth, striking the phone out of his hand! “Dude! Watch it!”

The thief tried again to stand; he wobbled a bit, having to find some balance--- it was more difficult than he surmised, as Junpei had to rush forth and catch him by the arms when he began to fall facedown again. “This is officially the worst day of my life…” he groaned.

“D-Don’t worry. I’m sure there’ll be a cure for this!”

WG came in through a portal at this point. “Well, bad news, there’s no cure--- oh, shit, wrong room.” She said, stopping when she saw Swaine. “Um… hey, Swaine, how’s it going?”

The thief gave her a heated look. “…Look me in the eyes and ask that again.”


	4. Khunbish's Dream

_There he was, standing deep in a room within the Vault of Tears. He walked onward, feeling there was a reason he had to be here._

_There came a hissing sound and he froze, seeing a large cobra with arms standing before him. He reached for his crossbow. “Lower your arms, I am not here to cause harm,” the snake said._

_“…how can I believe that?” he asked in caution._

_“I am Aapep; I once served the Wizard King, before I was driven mad by a stone of Mornstar. Listen well, archer, for my spirit can only visit the realm of dreams once; in order to break your curse, you must learn to overlook what has happened, find benefit in a time of trouble.”_

_“Find benefit…? What, ya mean look on the bright side?! That’s it?!”_

_“Do not be hasty, for you must discover the advantages wholeheartedly.”_

_“…so saying these scales happen to be my favorite color wouldn’t count, would it?”_

_“You must find 3 benefits… the more you despair over your appearance, the more snake-like you become, before you remain a Naga forever.”_

_“Oh, that’s nice to know!”_

_“Be wise about this… Do not let trouble into your heart,” with that, Aapep faded._

Khunbish gasped, sitting up in bed. “What… the bloody…?!” he wheezed.

“Khunbish!” came a familiar voice; near his bedside were Evan and Roland, the latter having been speaking with the doctor about their friend’s situation. “Are you alright?”

The archer looked at his midsection and downward, finding nothing but blue-green scales trailing 10-feet down the mattress and over the edge. He shifted, watching with unease as his lower body curved as he tried to sit up; his lower spine ached--- okay, he can’t sit upright as he normally did. “…I wish I could say so, your highness.” He sighed.

“Do you have any idea what happened?” Roland asked. “Ryuji and Junpei said it might have something to do with why you were so sick yesterday,”

“All I’s know is that damned statue has to do with it!” Khunbish grimaced, telling them about going inside the Vault of Tears, how Swaine wanted to throw away a little statue out of nerves, and the pirate had tried to take it back from him only for it to shatter at their feet and envelope them in green dust. “…The thief was right, that thing WAS cursed… but the lot of us never heard of any legends ‘bout it!”

“Aye, settle down, mun. We sent Tani an’ Batu to Boddly’s library to scope out some solutions!” Lofty exclaimed, and the pirate now noticed the tiny Kingmaker standing on the floor, looking at the chart upside-down and rightside-up.

“They’ve been gone a couple hours now. I hope they find something soon,” Evan replied, observing Khunbish’s lower body. “I’ve never even heard of a case like this!”

“How are you feeling, at least?” Roland asked.

The sky pirate wrapped his arms around himself. “Other than cold? …I feel like I’m going to throw up,” he groaned.

“Cold? …well, it is the winter season, but the walls are well-insulated!” Evan noted.

“Aye, mun, it’s 70-degrees in yur!” Lofty added.

Roland wrapped a blanket around Khunbish, who continued to shiver. “You also broke out of a fever, that could be the cause too.” The chief consul figured.

Khunbish shook his head. “My fever had broken this morning when I got up… then I just felt sluggish and tired.” He rested his palm on his head. “…still feeling like that, to be honest…”

“It’s probably because of your reptilian genes,” the doctor spoke up; she was a humanoid-canine with long ears and white fur, wearing glasses. “Reptiles are warm-blooded, meaning they do well in warm weather; the cold makes them sluggish and slow, and some go into hibernation until the cold season ends.”

“Perhaps we should send you back to Cloudcoil Canyon. It’s always warm there,” Evan recommended.

“I suppose so… just so long as no one mistakes me for some odd-looking manticore and tries to skin me alive,” Khunbish responded, his lower body curling up beneath him; he rested into his coils, as a way of sitting down.

“We’ll send Batu with you… in fact, there’s a chance they’ll return with a solution and---“ Roland began to state.

“Hold yer tongue, lad, we didn’t find anything,” Batu announced as he and Tani walked in, the latter carrying the scroll that held the story. “All we managed to dig up was this legend,”

Everyone read through it. “…so Lamian turned human on his own…” Evan said sadly.

“I think it’s because he didn’t mind how he looked--- he focused more on who he was than what he was, and that’s probably what made him transform,” Tani told them.

Khunbish gave a jolt. “My dream!” he gasped. Everyone looked at him. “I had a dream… some snake-thing--- Aapep--- he told me that in order to change back, I had to find 3 benefits to being a Naga!”

“Well, think up these 3 benefits an’ get youer legs back, mun!” Lofty exclaimed.

Khunbish looked at his tail, but only shook his head. “I can’t just list things off the top of my head… he said they have to be sincere. ‘Find advantages in time of despair’ or something--- and the more I gripe about being a snake, the more likely I’ll be stuck as a Naga forever!”

“Then it would be in yer best interest to hold back on the bellyachin’,” Batu told him.

“In the meantime, we’d like you to take him back to Cloudcoil Canyon, Batu.” Roland informed the captain. “The doctor said his reptile genes can’t handle the cold weather,”

“Ehhh, wish I could lad, but winter time en’t any different in the canyon. It may be sunny and warm most days, but even we tend to get foul weather--- heavy rains mostly, atop of windstorms. Even the Wyverns have to retreat into the backs of their caves until the blasted season’s over. Not sure how snakes fare in th’ wind an’ rain, but I don’t want to risk one of my men falling ill to find out,”

“How about Al-Mamoon, then? It’s twice as hot there anyway, and unlike our desert you’ll have a place to stay,” Evan suggested.

“Yeah! Our friends over there could put you up somewhere!” Tani exclaimed.

“I guess it’s better than the alternative…” Khunbish replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “W-Wait--- if I’m gone, who’s going to help out with skirmishes? T-The weapons shop?”

“We’ve got plenty o’ men, Khunbish--- not only that, ye won’t be much help to us if ye don’t have a leg to stand on,” Batu added. “…Pardon the expression.”

“I can stand just fine!” As if to prove himself, Khunbish got up---

*thud!*

…falling sideways.

“Oooooh, that’s gonna hurt his pride,” Lofty whispered.

At this moment, Ryuji came in. “Hey, how’s Khunbish---?” he asked, pausing when he saw the pirate on the ground. “…er, never mind.”

The pirate face-palmed. “…how soon can I leave?”

 


	5. Swaine's Lament

With Swaine, he had to face the same conclusion. Since Autumnia’s weather failed to provide enough warmth, he had to stay elsewhere; even with the suggestion of the indoor-heating of the palace, Marcassin surmised his reptilian biology would still sense the mild climate and affect his agility.

WG opened a portal for him to the oasis outside the city, escorting him alongside his brother and Junpei, all of them knowing too well that the city would surely panic if they saw a Naga slithering the streets… that is, once he got the hang of moving, his brother and the baseball player helping him find his balance.

“I am going to go speak to Queen Lowlah first, and let the city officials know not to panic.” Marcassin informed him. “You wait here,”

Swaine only nodded, curling up by the pond; he managed to get the hang of ‘sitting’ at least. Junpei patted him on the back. “Cheer up, Swaine--- we’ll find a way to undo this,” he stated. “Try looking on the bright side,”

“WHAT, exactly, IS the bright side to this?” Swaine challenged.

“Uh… you get to park in the handicap spaces?” he cleared his throat quick. “Um, I’ll go book you a room.”

Swaine sighed, sinking into his coils and resting his face in his arms. The only sound was the calm winds blowing across the desert, the warm breeze helping him relax a little; he shifted, his jacket suddenly feeling too warm--- which he found odd, as he had travelled the Shimmering Sands in his coat hundreds of times before. Probably because of his ‘hot-blooded’ genes, he figured.

Looking over, he saw WG sitting quiet. Ever since she got back from the library and shared the story she found, she had barely spoken a word. “…Alright, what’s on your mind? Spit it out!” Swaine sighed.

“This is my fault,” WG stated without hesitation, standing up and pacing around. “If I hadn’t asked you guys to tag along and find my keys, we wouldn’t have found that statue and you two wouldn’t have ended up cursed!” she kicked at the sand, crossing her arms. “I know you’re blaming me for this already, so I’m sorry.”

The thief let out a bitter sigh. It was true--- he hadn’t considered it too much due to the shock, but now he realized this whole ‘curse’ had in fact taken place because the crazy authoress dragged him along into the Vault of Tears, as well as had been the one who wanted to take that damned statue home in the first place. He wanted to rant and rave about it, chew her out for everything, and let all his frustration out on her…

She opened a portal, her back to him. “…I know you hate me, so I’ll save you the breath and just leave.”

Before he could respond, she already stepped through and left. “…Well at least let me yell at you, first!” he hollered at thin air, before cursing and slumping back into his coils.

By this point, Junpei returned. “Forgot to ask, do they accept yen here---“ he began, pausing when he noticed something amiss. “Where’s WG?” he looked at Swaine, noting his bitter expression. He frowned, crossing his arms. “Alright, what did you do?”

“Me?!” Swaine straightened up, slithering across the grass--- his rage distracting him from the fact that he was now moving properly. “That bitch drags me into the Vault of Tears, tries to take home that blasted statue, and look what it caused! Now, she just automatically guilts herself and leaves before even waiting for me to respond! I didn’t do ANYTHING!”

Junpei was pressed against a tree as the thief loomed over him; despite his snake-body gave him extra height, the baseball player still chose to stand his ground. “FIRST of all…!” he sneered, pushing him back (he lost balance and toppled over). “WG didn’t DRAG you down there--- she just asked you to tag along, claiming you’d be a big help; no one else in this universe had the free time to help out, and you were the only one most familiar with the place! …SECOND, you could have just told her to leave the statue herself--- rather than snag it away freaking out about it, then KHUNBISH was the one trying to take it back, and BOTH of you ended up breaking it! So you’re not blameless in any of this!”

Swaine remained on the ground, staring at him.

Junpei continued. “You could have told her you didn’t want to go, but you let her talk you into it. You could have thrown that statue back into the water the moment you fished it out, but you let her hang on to it. You could have suggested she take a picture of it and do some research first, but you just snapped at her instead. There were SO MANY other options you could have taken, that we ALL could have taken… but we can’t go back and ‘redo’ everything. We chose our options, and dammit we all have to stick with them! So don’t be putting all the blame on her!”

The thief turned over onto his stomach, looking at his snake body. He unleashed a heavy sigh, resting his face on his arms once more. Things hadn’t gone right since last night… there was too much to deal with… in the spur of the moment, he [mentally] scolded WG for being the cause of this… but in truth none of them knew what was going to happen with that statue. In fact, they had all figured things would be fine when nothing happened right away.

“…I didn’t yell at her,” Swaine told him quietly. “She just… said it was all her fault, and took off before I could say a word.”

“Then I’m having her come back,” Junpei replied, taking out his phone. “I want YOU to tell her it’s not her fault,”

As Junpei dialed, there came a flash of blue light, and Ryuji, Evan, Roland and Khunbish appeared. “Here we are--- we’ll go speak with the city officials and explain everything,” Roland stated, pausing when he noticed Swaine and Junpei nearby… most notably the fact that the thief was a Naga as well. “Oh! So it _did_ happen to you, too…”

“Yeah, Wherever-san, it’s Junpei--- huh? …C’mon, don’t be like that…” the baseball player was saying into his phone, walking around the trees.

“What’s with Junpei? …and where’s Wherever-chan?” Ryuji asked, mildly concerned.

“She figured I blamed her for this whole mess and left,” Swaine muttered.

“What?!” Khunbish gasped, then slithered up to Swaine at lightning speed, grabbing him by the shirt-collar! “Where did she get an idea like that?! What did you do?!”

“Nothing! I was just brooding, she said it was all her fault, and bolted before I could get a word in!” Swaine shoved him back. “…blimey, if I need to repeat myself one more time…”

“Well, she’s not coming back,” Junpei sneered, walking back over. “Apparently, she doesn’t think anyone--- and by anyone I mean Swaine--- wants to see her face, and believes she should ‘give everyone (Swaine!) some space’ for a while,”

“I wants to see her! The presence of my angelic fan-girl is the only thing that can lift my spirits in this dark time!” Khunbish exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, Khunbish. Remember, you just have to think of 3 benefits of being a Naga, and you should turn back into a human!” Evan assured.

“Say that again?” Swaine asked.

“Aapep came to Khunbish in a dream; in order for you two to change human, you have to overlook your transformations and find some advantages.” Roland explained to him. “The more you linger in grievance… the more likely you’ll be stuck like this.”

The thief’s eyes widened. “WHAT?! You mean I’m going to be stuck as a bloody half-snake freak unless I can find a reason to like it?! What kind of bullshit is that?!”

“S-Swaine, calm down! It can’t be that hard!” Ryuji stammered, backing up a bit.

“Easy for you to say!” Swaine let out an aggravated breath. “Look, I might as well tell you this now…I HATE snakes. Hell, I might as well admit I have ophidiophobia!”

“Ooh… damn, yeah this will be tough to solve.” Junpei whispered.

“But, don’t you have snake-like familiars in your game?” Roland questioned. “You’re not scared of them… are you?”

“Those don’t exactly count.” Swaine leaned against a tree. “When I was 15, some snake-charmer was doing an act in the streets; rather than having a small snake, he had a boa-constrictor that he claimed he could make dance… well, he hit a note wrong, and the damn reptile broke out of its trance and lunged at me! It wrapped around my neck strangling me--- I blacked out by the time someone managed to kill the f---“

“SWAINE!”  came a strangled gasp from behind him. Swaine looked over and gasped--- while gesturing about the trauma he endured, his tail ended up wrapping around Junpei’s throat! Quickly he released the teen, who gasped for air. “…thank you…”

“Okay. Snake trauma. Got it.” Ryuji stated.

“Don’t worry, Swaine. You have our support.” Evan assured the thief, patting him on the back. “Once we get Khunbish settled, we’re going to see if there’s anyone else who knows about Prince Lamian’s legend, and if there’s more to the solution.”

“Tch, as old as that story is, we’d have to go back in time to find anything!” Swaine grimaced.

“THAT’S IT!” Ryuji exclaimed. “Zane--- he’s a Time Lord, right?? He and WG could go back in time and find the answers we need!”

“Why not just go back in time and stop us from breaking that statue?” Khunbish asked.

“…That can be Plan B!” Ryuji took out his phone, texting WG.

By this point, Marcassin returned. “The arrangements have been made, Gascon.” He stated, before noticing his comrades from the sequel, giving them a bow in greeting. “Ah, King Evan, President Roland, I did not expect to run into you here.”

“Seems like you had the same setup in mind as we did,” Roland replied, turning the young sage’s attention to the archer. “Khunbish was affected by the spell alongside your brother.”

“I just got a message from WG--- she’ll talk to Zane as soon as he gets back!” Ryuji exclaimed, giving Khunbish a pat on the back. “You’ll be back on two legs in no time!”

“Ah, problem: Zane is gone on Time Lord business… meaning it might be a while before he’s back home. WG said it often takes days, if not weeks, for him to get home.” Swaine muttered.

“What, he can’t just zap back to five minutes after he left or something?” Junpei questioned.

“Not quite. From my understanding, the TARDIS has a complicated system; I remember one episode where the 11th Doctor overshot a rendezvous by several years,” Roland pointed out. “But with Zane’s experience, he’s normally back within a month.”

“Pardon my speaking, Master Roland, but we don’t HAVE a month!” Khunbish grimaced, grabbing the end of his tail and holding it up for emphasis.

“Then I suggest you start looking on the bright side soon, otherwise you’ll have to get used to crawling.”

“…Pardon me, but what are you talking about?” Marcassin asked.

“In that story, Lamian wasn’t bothered by his Naga appearance and that’s what helped him turn human; Khunbish was told by Aapep--- in a dream--- that he had to find 3 advantages in order to change back.” Evan explained.

“…problem is, Swaine’s afraid of snakes, so it won’t be so easy.” Junpei added, tilting his cap forth.

“I see… Perhaps once you get used to your anatomy, listing benefits will become easier,” Marcassin guessed. He looked up, seeing the sun was already beginning to set. “In the meantime, we should check you in; it’s getting late.”

“You guys are staying with us… right?” Swaine asked.

“I wish we could, but Evermore has been in need of intense management; many buildings need insulated, wild creatures have been trying to infiltrate through the walls, and we have to make sure the market has plenty of food and supplies for the rest of the season,” Evan sadly explained. “But you can be assured we will be checking in on you, I’ll send someone to visit you if I can’t make it myself,”

“I must make the same promise, Gascon. Hamelin is in need of resource-checks this time of year,” Marcassin stated. “But I will come by the moment I get a chance. Oliver may even drop by for emotional support with Drippy, and Esther can visit you as well---“

“Whoa, hold it! …Oliver I don’t mind, but I don’t want that blasted fairy finding out and making jokes! And no letting Esther know, either--- the last thing I need is for her to see me like this! I’d never hear the end of it!” Swaine groused.

“Aye, sire, don’t let the rest of me mates drop by either—they see me, an’ no one’ll use th’ term ‘Snakes Alive!’ the same way again!” Khunbish added.

“They’re going to find out sooner or later, if they haven’t already. What, are you guys going to just hide out in your rooms the whole time?” Junpei questioned.

“Yes,” Both the thief and the pirate answered.

“It would be best if people visited them gradually--- one at a time, if not communicate online.” Roland suggested. “I have to agree that not all our friends will provide sympathy.”

“It’s a miracle these two have,” Marcassin threw in, motioning to Ryuji and Junpei.

“Hey! We’re not incapable of sympathy!” Ryuji retorted.

“…Then would you explain why your Leafbook account has a picture of Khunbish passed out?” Roland argued, holding up a tablet.

Everyone looked, seeing Ryuji’s profile sporting a picture of Khunbish passed out face-down on the floor (waist-up, so the snake-tail had been cut out), with the caption ‘Bishie saw himself in the mirror and passed out LOL’.

Ryuji remained still, not having the courage to face the intense glare Khunbish was giving him right now. “…I didn’t include the tail…” he murmured.

“Let’s just get inside…” Swaine sighed, doing his best to keep upright as he slithered across the sands.

“We still need to give the city a warning--- the sight of us might jolt a few nerves,” Khunbish stated.

“Only if they see your faces first, ha ha!” Junpei cracked. The two gave him a glare. “…ha… ha… oh c’mon guys, I was kidding!”

“I will speak with Queen Lowlah. Roland, will you wait here with Khunbish?” Evan asked.

“Of course,” Roland replied with a nod.

“We’re going to take Swaine inside. See you soon,” Ryuji said, as he and Junpei walked alongside the thief.

Swaine swayed a bit, both the teens making the motion to catch him should he fall again, but thankfully he managed to hold his own. Once at the gates of the city, he drew in a deep breath; already the sentries were giving him peculiar looks, and some nearby civilians were pausing to look in his direction.

_This is going to suck…_ the thief thought in hesitation. Junpei rested a hand on his shoulder, giving him an assuring nod, and with a deep breath he and the teens made their way inside.

 


	6. Checking In

Swaine kept his eyes on the ground as they made their way down the street, avoiding the staring and gawking from passerby; thankfully the Cat’s Cradle was just around the corner, the inns always built close to the entrance of the kingdoms so weary travelers could rest right away.

Or, in this case, so the thief could get out of sight as soon as possible.

Ryuji kept watching him, feeling a bit sympathetic every time Swaine would falter or have to lean against one of the teens. It reminded him of when his leg had been broken and he had to move around on crutches, and the physical-therapy that took place after his cast came off, right up to when his bum leg would flare up if he pushed himself too hard when running.

With all this in mind, he couldn’t really bring himself to laugh at neither the thief’s nor the pirate’s situation… too much. He had to admit Khunbish’s freak out was funny at first, but all things considered poking fun at either of them right now wasn’t a good call, as proven at the oasis. Humor would have to wait.

“Ow!” Swaine grunted. Some inattentive passerby had accidentally stepped on his tail! He turned around. “Watch it!” The passerby looked and gasped, quickening his pace and taking off. Marcassin rested a hand on his shoulder, coaxing him to keep moving.

“H-Hey, Swaine… you want us to carry you?” Ryuji asked as they entered the hotel. “I mean, just to make sure no one steps on your tail again,”

The thief gave him a heated look. “I’m fine! As long as people watch where they’re going, I can manage by my--- OW!”

Everyone froze, slowly turning and seeing that the door shut on his tail! “I-I’ll get that…” Junpei said, hurrying to open the door.

“(Son of a bitch… frickin’ tail… nnngh…)” Swaine quietly continued to curse under his breath as they made their way to the front desk.

“Oh my! What a rare occasion!” the Purrprioter gasped, observing the thief. “As I live and breathe… a Naga has entered my inn!”

“Er… yes, this is my brother. He’s under a curse, and needs a room to stay in until it passes.” Marcassin stated, while Swaine shielded his face from a few gawking patrons.

“Pardon my manners, it is not every day I see a creature outside of humans and grimalkins stay here,”

“I’m not a creature, I’m a human…” Swaine muttered under his breath.

“Y-You should be expecting another Naga in a few minutes,” Junpei told the Purrprioter. “Another friend of ours was cursed as well,”

“I see… hmm, yes, I have 2 rooms available, both on the top floor.” The Purrprioter said.

Everyone paused, looked at Swaine’s tail, then up at the stairs. “…Any chance you guys have an elevator?” Ryuji asked.

“I’m afraid not. We have yet to gain the funds to put one in,”

“Go figure,” Swaine grimaced.

“Oh, there’s no use griping about it anymore, Gascon. Remember: the more you complain, the longer you’ll be stuck like this!” Marcassin sighed, as he was given the room key. “Now come on, the sooner we get up there, the sooner you can relax.”

Slithering through the curtain, Swaine came to the base of the stairs; grabbing onto the railing, he began to ‘pull’ himself, grunting as he tried to haul his tail up with him. He gasped just then, feeling himself float--- Marcassin had cast a ‘Levitate’ spell on him! “Seriously?”

“Sorry, brother, but I DO want to get home within the week,”

“Cool! Can we float up the stairs, too?” Ryuji asked.

“Shouldn’t you two be getting back to your own worlds?!” Swaine snapped at them.

“Uh… it may be a while. We came over with WG,” Junpei answered.

The thief sighed; with the help of levitation, he managed to get up to the top floor alright, finding his room. Marcassin handed him the key and they went in, finding the large circular flat-beds that made up the Al-Mamoonian Cat’s Cradle’s rooms, complete with several soft, comfy pillows piled along the far edge; there was also a bathroom with a tub, a small dresser, and a clock on the wall with a cow-tail pendulum and horns sticking out of the sides.

“By the way… How do you think you’re gonna…?” Ryuji began to ask, thumbing at the toilet.

“I don’t think any of us want to know that!” Junpei said quickly.

Swaine sighed, slithering over to the bed and collapsing on the mattress; his snake-tail curled up around him. Marcassin knelt beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. “It will be alright, brother. If you ever need help or company, don’t hesitate to contact us.”

“Yeah, dude. Keep thinking positive!” Ryuji assured.

“…I’ll try…” Swaine murmured, turning on his side, his back to them.

Marcassin nodded to the others, all of them exiting; he looked at his brother once more before shutting the door. They walked down the hall before he turned to them. “Is it possible for either one of you to stay here?” the young sage asked. “I’d appreciate someone keeping an eye on him,”

“We’ll try to drop by often, but I don’t think Mitsuru-senpai would buy the whole ‘emotional support for a snake curse’ story and let me skip school.” Junpei sighed.

“I-I could stay.” Ryuji said, rubbing his chin. “…only I don’t want my mom to worry… so I won’t be staying too long--- shit! What time is it?! I told her I’d be home before dark!”

“I shall open a Gateway for you within the moment,” Marcassin assured him. “But you two will show your support, won’t you?”

“We’ll do our best. I mean, he did say he didn’t want certain people around… and I doubt Ryu-kun and I are at the top of his guest-list,” The baseball player took out his cell phone. “I’m gonna text WG and check in on her, too.”

“Oh! …How awful, I didn’t realize she had left. She had been so quiet,” Marcassin gasped.

“Yeah… she thinks Swaine hates her for what happened. B-But, she shouldn’t blame herself! We were all down there together, none of us did anything. Hell, we should’ve come to you the moment that statue broke!” Ryuji spoke up.

Marcassin only sighed. “What’s done is done, and we can only move forward. If Khunbish is right and finding positivity in such a state is the only way to break the spell, then it is up to both of them--- our role is to offer support and help them find benefits.”

Junpei rubbed his chin. “So… would mentioning that people consider this a kink be an upside?”

The young sage gave a deadpanned look. “No, Junpei. Making my brother feel like the product of a sickening fetish would NOT be considered an ‘upside’.”

“Okay, okay, I was just kidding!” Junpei then leaned over to Ryuji. “(Better not show him the dark side of Tumblr).”

 “(Dude, even I avoid it!)” Ryuji whispered back.

_“YEEEEOOOOOOOWWWW!”_ a scream echoed from downstairs.

“…Sounds like Khunbish is having trouble with the door,” Junpei noted.

“I should make sure King Evan knows the ‘Levitation’ spell for the stairs,” Marcassin stated. He waved his wand, casting Gateway for the two boys. “You may return to your homes. Thank you for your sympathy,"

Junpei and Ryuji walked through, the Gateway leading them to the Persona Q universe--- which helped connect all the Persona universes and made it easier for them to return to their own homes. “So… you think they’ll be okay?” Ryuji asked as they walked along to the gateways that led to their realms. “I mean, Swaine has a fear of snakes and stuff…”

“I think the most we can do is help them find something good about being Nagas,” Junpei answered. “I could look up some stuff about them--- maybe they have super-strength or something. That would be a plus.”

“Yeah! I bet there’s some comic books and stuff out there that show how cool being part-snake can be! Kinda like how Star Butterfly’s teacher found out how awesome being a troll was!”

“We’ll meet up and collab ideas. They’ll be human again in no time!”

The boys took off, feeling confident in finding solutions to their friends problems… as if it would be no problem at all.

Which it would be, as that last sentence clearly shows.

 


	7. Intense Appetite

Al-Mamoon during the daytime was a city filled with intense heat, a neighboring volcano not exactly making the desert any cooler, and for one who was not native to the Shimmering Sands it called for a lot of sun-block and need for hydration.

But by night, it was a different story. With no humidity, the land was cold once the sun went down. The first time he experienced such weather, Swaine took to wearing a long jacket during the scorching hours of the day just so the coolness of the night would feel less bitter (it was also a good idea to wear long sleeves in order to protect him from suffering a blistering sunburn.)

After his transformation, his body felt more vulnerable to the elements. It was too hot for his jacket during the daytime, and at night-time he felt at-risk for hyperthermia. Thank goodness the inn had plenty of blankets at-hand, as he found himself in need of another layer of knitted wool.

The thief ended up covering himself with up to 7 blankets, stacking pillows around his snake-tail not only to provide extra warmth but to also keep the ungodly sight hidden. Of course, it proved difficult; he was so used to his usual sleeping positions that, every time he went to curl up or stretch out, the tail would end up shifting and moving things out of place. It was 20 minutes before he managed to get the hang of laying down, coiling up and covering his scaly body with the blankets, while burying himself under the pillows.

…dammit, he could imagine WG drawing a picture of this, if she could see him now.

Thinking about the authoress, he had the mind to call her up; with her ability to open portals (as Authors had their own powers, if they wanted), she could come in handy in fetching him food, or bringing him supplies so he didn’t have to go out in public. If anything, having a portal-maker around would be best if he needed to make a getaway should that blasted fairy or Esther come in and make remarks.

He sighed. Junpei had a point--- if he hadn’t let his fear of snakes control his actions, he could have found a way to prevent damage to the statue and would be in his room in Hamelin now. He would either be asleep in the comfort of his bed, or sitting at his desk working on his guns or some other project. He would have to remember to contact Marcassin to bring him his things once he got a chance--- having been in a haste to get to a warm climate before passing out, the thief didn’t have time to pack.

*gurgle*

…nor eat.

Swaine held his stomach, groaning. It was starting to cramp from hunger, and he felt famished; the last time he remembered feeling so starved was during his years as a lonely thief, having to go days with little to no food, until he could swipe it off someone. He remembered how it showed after first joining Oliver and Esther--- when they bought a meal, he scarfed it down within the minute!

Perhaps it was best to order room-service. It may be late, but he knew he wouldn’t be sleeping until he got something in his stomach.

He paused, looking at his lower body. Exactly… how much did Nagas have to eat? What exactly could they eat?

The thief gulped a bit, remembering how snakes swallowed live prey…

_No way! I’m not some bloody python! I’m still human!_ Swaine snapped at himself. Even if that were a requirement, it would be a cold day in hell when he would swallow some animal whole!

Keeping a long blanket wrapped around him, he slithered out of the room and down the hall; how he wished the inn had telephones so that they could just call for something. But it was late enough at night so no other patrons would see him, and his growling stomach protested against his pride. He was halfway down the hall when the real problem came up.

The stairs.

Swaine looked down at the steps. If he made the attempt, chances are he would lose his balance and tumble downstairs, waking the whole inn and making a scene. Even if he held onto the banister and had a safe descent, the journey back up would take him all night!

*rumble gurgle*

He grunted, holding his stomach. His hunger was really fighting today…

Grabbing onto the railing, he carefully began his descent. He closed his eyes--- maybe if he pretended he wasn’t slithering, it would be easier.

*ba-bump, ba-bump*

Swaine gripped the railing tightly, feeling part of his lower body dragging over the first two steps. The edge of the stairs were not kind to his underbelly; it was as if he were sliding downstairs on his stomach, and unless the stairs (which he forgot were crafted out of stone) had a soft rug to cover them…

He got an idea just then. Backing up, he tied the blanket around his waist so that it covered his underbelly; the thin material wasn’t enough to cushion the edges, but at least it would help keep the scales from suffering any bruises or scrapes.

Trying again, he made his way down the stairs.

*ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump*

So far so good. He still felt a tad pain, but the blanket helped him slide over the edges a little smoother.

“Swaine?”

“Whoa!” He gasped.

*ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump!*

…it made him slide down faster too.

Looking up, he saw Khunbish (now cringing in apology) at the top of the stairs. “S-Sorry! Are ye alright?” the archer called out in a whisper.

“If you call blanket-sledding downstairs with a bruised stomach ‘fine’…” Swaine muttered, standing up. The blanket had fallen off, and he wrapped it back around his shoulders. “What are you doing up?”

“Heh, I was ‘bout to ask ye the same thing, mate. I’s couldn’t sleep, an’ my stomach was feelin’ a bit empty, so I decided to come order room-service. I’d order me some takeout, but I don’t think any fast-food places deliver this far,” he cocked his head. “…so, uh, why was you blanket-sledding?”

Swaine scoffed. “As you can see, I’m not capable of climbing stairs right now.”

“It ain’t that hard,”

“Yeah? You try it, then!”

Khunbish shrugged; he backed up a bit, before lying on his stomach. The gunslinger watched in awe as the archer ‘crawled’ his way down the stairs, using his arms to ‘climb’ forth and keep himself upright, while his lower body loosely trailed behind him. Once he reached the bottom, he crawled forth enough so that he could stand upright.

The thief blinked. “How the bloody hell…?”

“We used to do drills back at base a lot, including how to crawl through low caverns that went at any angle. …aaaand as a kid I liked to slide down the stairs like that. We’s had carpeted stairs ‘n’ all that, so it made it a little easier on th’ abdomen.” Khunbish explained.

Swaine arched an eyebrow. “…I thought you lived with Sky Pirates,”

Khunbish crossed his arms, giving him a look. “What, were ye born a thief on the streets? …I’s had a different life before piracy, for yer information.”

“Alright, keep your hair on, I was just asking. *sigh* Let’s just get some food.”

“Aye, that be a good idea.”

Slithering to the front desk, the two asked the purrprioter about room-service. She handed them a couple menus. “Here you are. Allow me to go to the kitchens and light the oven--- we do not usually serve food this late, but in your case an exception can be made.” She said, walking back towards the kitchens.

The two looked at the menu choices. As much as their stomachs were growling, everything listed sounded delicious. “So… um… what are ye going to get?”

“I don’t know… I’m hungry for everything,” Swaine answered, finding his appetite a bit odd. Even at the point of starvation in his thieving years, he probably wouldn’t be in the mood for steamed green beans and sardines.

“Same here… and I don’t even like most of this stuff.” Khunbish looked over the menu one more time. “How about if we get some rice? Rice is pretty filling. …er, can snakes eat rice?”

The thief paused. He didn’t exactly know what was hazardous for snakes to consume… He shook his head. “We’re still human! I think it will be fine! *sigh* Let’s just get one of everything, that way we can figure out what’s good to eat,”

“(Oi, Master Roland’s going to be pissed about the bill…)”

The purrprioter returned. Giving her their order, she looked aghast for a moment, but quietly nodded. “V-Very well, gentlemen. I understand you must have big appetites. It will take some time to prepare everything, but we will try to have it up to you within the hour.”

“Thank y--- up?” Swaine paused, remembering the climb he would have to make.

Khunbish patted him on the back, leading him to the stairs. “Just watch me. I’ll shows ya,” he assured. This time, he leaned forth and planted his palms on the furthers step he could, then began to ‘climb’ upward.

Swaine followed his example, grunting a bit as he made his way up, his underbelly sliding along only the edges this time. Once at the top, he lay on the ground. “…blimey, I’m going to ache everywhere tomorrow,”

“Aye… wish someone had stayed so that we could have someone go on a food-run for us,” Khunbish agreed, rubbing his underbelly. “Going up-n-down like that all the time ain’t good for the muscles,”

Wrapping his blanket tighter around his shoulders, Swaine slithered back towards his room. “Well, I’m starting to freeze. The desert gets pretty cold at night,”

“THAT’S the reason?” Khunbish wrapped his arms around himself. “I just figured this place at the A/C up!”

“Our Cat’s Cradle doesn’t HAVE an A/C!”

“…that’s what threw me off. Right, back to the room then.” Khunbish slithered off as well.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The food arrived an hour and a half later, the server apologizing for the long wait as they normally didn’t cook so late at night and the ovens needed time to heat up. Giving him a large tip for the trouble, Swaine coiled up by the table, looking at the different sizes of trays that were spread out before him.

Upon gazing at the feast, his eyes widened and his mouth watered… and with his mind going blank he rushed in and began to devour everything! He tore into the rolls, slurped down bowls of soup, ravaged the burgers, swallowed the desserts, and stuffed salad by the fistfuls into his mouth! He didn’t stop until every tray was bare! Once the food was gone, he guzzled down an entire pitcher of water!

He panted, as if eating a late-night dinner were an Olympus event… but he was still hungry, which confused him. There was enough food to feed several people, but to him it felt as if he only ate a breadstick!

“More… I gotta have more…!” Swaine rasped hungrily, eyes scouring the table for any signs of any food he might have missed…

His eyes fell on a tray, where he saw his reflection: his eyes were glowing a bright yellow color, the look on his face like that of a savage beast…

Shaking his head, he snapped himself out of it. _No… I’m still human… I’m still human!_ He told himself repeatedly, backing into a corner and clutching his head, his tail curling up to match his distress.

*Knock knock knock*

He gave a gasp, taking a breath after realizing someone was at the door. Maybe room-service forgot something.

Opening it, he found it was only Khunbish; the Sky Pirate was wiping crumbs off his face. “Oh, good, y-you’re still awake,” he said. He had two blankets wrapped around him, though was still shivering (which didn’t surprise the thief--- the pirate’s outfit was entirely sleeveless!).

“What is it, Khunbish?” Swaine asked in a heavy sigh.

“Well... I’s was wondering if maybe we could share a room tonight. Pardon my being squeamish, but I can’t bring myself to be alone right now at this hour in this state…”

Swaine gave him a look. “In other words, you’re too nerve-racked to sleep.”

“Well when ye put it THAT way…”

The gunslinger shook his head, but gave a sympathetic grin. To be honest, he didn’t like the idea of sleeping alone on his first night as a Naga any more than the archer did. “Alright, but just for tonight--- and this doesn’t get repeated to anyone, got it?”

“Already takin’ it to my grave, Swaine.” Khunbish slithered into his room, closing the door behind him (watching his tail).

The two looked at the bed, then at each other. “You stay on one side, I’ll stay on the other,”

“Gotcha.”

Both of them coiled up, piling blankets and pillows over themselves, before managing to drift to sleep.

…

The chill of the night, however, caused them to shift and change positions.

As if part of some instinct, their lower bodies laced around each other, blankets and pillows shifting around them and keeping them buried. Khunbish, in his sleep, clung to Swaine’s abdomen, the warmth of it adding some comfort to his slumber; Swaine’s arms automatically wrapped around him, clinging to the warm  company beside him.

It wasn’t until the next morning when they would be aware of their position… thanks to an unexpected visitor.

 

 


	8. New Skills

_He found himself waking up in a jail cell. It wasn’t the first time his subconscious paid a visit to such dreams, as they were based on his memories from his days as a thief. Sleeping behind bars was better than up in a tree or in a cave, roughing it in the wilderness and waking up every several minutes believing some creature or marauder was prowling upon him. (The only time being in jail was a problem was when he’d have a cellmate who looked at him the same way Grell Sutcliffe looked at Sebastian Michaelis, and wouldn’t sleep a wink until he was finally released)._

_But something didn’t seem right. It was too dark in this cell; even without windows, there would have been some sort of light coming from the doorway or a guard’s candle. Not only that, but he was the only one inside--- not that the jail cells in Ni no Kuni were chock-full of criminals, but (depending on the town he was in) there was normally another thief, or a murderer, maybe a kidnapper, or even the occasional town drunk in the next cell._

_It was also too quiet, the sound of moisture dripping from the ceiling into a puddle echoing down the corridor. Looking around, he noticed a set of steps leading upward, and realized this was not a jail cell, but a dungeon… a very familiar dungeon…_

_He was back in the Vault of Tears!_

_He began to move, wondering why he was back in this Godforsaken place… and suddenly his stomach growled. He gasped, leaning against the wall, feeling famished once again._

_‘Ribbit, ribbit’._

_He looked ahead, seeing a frog hopping by._

_His eyes widened and salivation formed in his mouth. He then shot after the frog---!_

_He caught it… but when he held it up, it suddenly turned into a pair of keys._

_“Swaine?”_

_He paused, looking behind him. There stood WG… with a pizza?_

“Swaine? Khunbish?”

The thief awoke, looking over. WG was standing there with a few pizza boxes… and a confused expression.

He then realized he and Khunbish were snuggled together! “GAH! What the…?!” he sputtered.

“Zz--- huh? What?” Khunbish gasped, sitting up and noticing their lower bodies wrapped together! “What the hell?!”

“Um… if you guys need a minute, I can wait outside,” WG spoke up.

“WHEREVER GIRL!” Khunbish gasped, prying himself away from Swaine and rushing over. “Oh thank God! I thought you’d never come back to us! …is that pizza?”

“Oh, y-yeah. I still felt bad about all this… and I figured I’d bring you something to eat, in order to help out,” She set the pizzas on the table, noticing the several different dishes left over from last night. “…though I take it you two have already eaten?”

“Trust me, we’re still hungry.” Swaine replied, grabbing a slice of pizza.

“Aye, turns out our stomachs are ten times as big now,” Khunbish added, taking a couple slices as well.

“I did read about that,” WG reached into her pack, pulling out one of the books she had checked out. “I did some research last night, figuring as long as you’re like this, we might as well learn more about your new traits. According to this, Nagas only have to eat once every three days, but they have to eat half their weight in food in order to be satisfied. …I didn’t know how much that would be, so I only got 3 pizzas--- whoa!”

Looking, she found that two pizza boxes were already empty… and the two Nagas were fighting over the last one, melted cheese stretched between them as the crust was torn in half. “Should’ve gotten some breadsticks too,” Swaine sneered, engulfing three slices at once!

WG blinked. “O-kay then… There’s more listed here. Nagas love spicy foods, however they can’t have too many sweets. They mostly like meat, but can’t have alcohol.”

“Drat, I was hoping this experience would be a good excuse to get hammered,”

“What else does it say?” Khunbish asked, wiping off his mouth and reading over her shoulder.

WG went on to tell them about different Naga traits; they had excellent speed (save for cold weather, as it made them sluggish), amazing strength as they could crush an enemy with their coils, and could withstand intense heat. “…I would also believe you would be great huggers, but that’s just my thinking.” She added.

“Let’s test that theory!” Khunbish exclaimed, but Swaine pulled him back.

“(Heel, boy). …You know, we could test this all out. I mean, it would help us find some benefits and break the curse, at least!” Swaine figured.

“Okay, we can go out to the desert---“ WG began to suggest, opening a portal.

“NO!”

She snapped the portal shut. “H-Huh?”

Swaine cleared his throat. “Sorry… I don’t want anyone to see me like this. I’d never hear the end of it if Esther or Drippy spotted me!”

“Oh. Understandable.”

“How’s about the desert in my world? It’s a barren wasteland, there be nothing around but wild animals!” Khunbish suggested.

“That works. WG, do you know the location?” Swaine asked.

“Are you kidding? I hit every continent the moment I went to that realm!” WG exclaimed, and opened a portal for the two of them.

Stepping through, they entered the vast sand-filled region. It reminded Swaine of Al-Mamoon… but with more mountains and not a city in sight. It felt hotter too, though he didn’t feel the need to complain as immediately his skin and scales felt refreshed.

“So, what shall we test out first?” Khunbish asked, slithering around. “Speed, strength, agility?”

“Let’s start with speed,” WG recommended, looking towards a large rock in the distance. “Both of you race to that rock,”

Lining up, Swaine and Khunbish counted down before taking off. The thief was in the lead at first, but the pirate was beginning to pass him! “C’mon ol’ man, keep up!” the archer joked.

Swaine paused, reaching for his pistol… but shook his head. “Nahhh… not today.” He shot onward, finding that if he leaned forth a bit and put his hands at his sides, he could increase speed, and began to pass him!

Both of them were neck-in-neck; WG began to holler, but with their concentration on trying to beat each other to the rock they couldn’t make out her words---

*WHUMP!*

…That is, until a creature jumped off the rock and landed on them! The two bucked it off, turning to see it was a Grimchilla Clanger, and several more came out from behind the rock. There was snarling, as a pair of Quiverines also took notice of their presence.

“Guess this is where we test out our strength!” Swaine exclaimed, swinging his tail and knocking back the surrounding Grimchillas, while Khunbish punched the one that jumped them off their backs. The Quiverines came rushing forth snarling, but a portal opened between them and the two Nagas, making the desert-hounds slam into the rock!

WG rushed over with her machete. “Never fails, you come out for just a LITTLE walk, and something tries to kill you.” She scoffed.

The Quiverines shook off their daze and stood back up, while the Grimchillas managed to get back on their feet, all the creatures glaring and growling, ready for a fight!

“Alright then… who wants to get crushed, first?” Khunbish said with a confident grin.

Their enemies lunged, and the trio leaped into action.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

While that bit of action was going on, Junpei and Ryuji were bored out of their minds. The two had checked every website, every manga shop and comic book store, but hadn’t found anything interesting about Nagas (except for a few horrifying legends, a few fan-fics, and a raunchy picture or two--- but none of that would make their friends feel better).

Currently the two were sitting in the food-court of _Persona Q,_ feeling drained. “I can’t believe it… the Nagas are either the bad guys, or it’s just used for a kink… Isn’t there anything that gives them credit?!” Junpei groaned, rubbing his temples.

“All I found was an _Aladdin_ episode where Jasmine was turned into one, but I think that would just make them feel worse since she was cursed and poisonous…” Ryuji muttered, his head resting on the table.

Around this time, their co-star Kanji Tatsumi was walking by. “There you guys are. What’s keeping ya? You were supposed to be at our English rehearsals thirty minutes ago!” he stated.

“Oh shit!” Junpei gasped, looking at his watch. “I forgot about that!”

“What the eff--- I thought those didn’t start until next week!” Ryuji sputtered.

“Nope, they start today. The producers said that if we don’t have our English-dubbed scenes recorded by Spring, the game-release will be pushed back… and our senpais will make everyone do extra clean-up for every day that people have to wait, after the incident with Persona 5,” Kanji stated.

“Hey, that wasn’t our fault--- the release was late because Akira was complaining about the cover and wanted a new one!”

“Really? And they listened to him?” Junpei questioned.

“(You’d listen to the kid too if your mom was Bayonetta),”

“Let’s just hurry,” Kanji grunted, ushering them forth. He then noticed the dark circles under their eyes, and how sluggish they looked. “You guys feeling okay? You look like you haven’t slept all night!”

“Sorry… we were trying to find stuff to help--- oof!”

“We were cramming!” Junpei cut in after elbowing Ryuji. “Yeah… our teachers are having us do some extra-credit work so our grades don’t slip during rehearsals,”

“Seriously? …I never got any extra-credit work.” Kanji questioned, scratching his head.

“Uh, our grades are REAL bad. …C’mon, lets hurry before Mitsuru decides to execute us!” Junpei hurried ahead with Ryuji, while whispering in his ear. “(Dude, we have to keep it SECRET, remember?!)”

“(Alright, alright, sorry! Geez… Hey! Maybe one of our friends would know something! Doesn’t one of your teammates like animals?)” Ryuji asked.

“Hey, what are you two talking about?!” Kanji demanded.

“NOTHING!” Both replied, before racing off.

Kanji, of course, took chase. “HOLD IT! Get back here and tell me what’s going on…!”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The battle went quick…

Quicker than any battles he had ever been a part of!

They had sent the Grimchillas and Quiverines running, and just afterwards a trio of Manticores came at them! But with their newfound reflexes and speed, their enemies could hardly overpower them--- rather, the two nagas managed to overthrow them within five minutes!

It got Khunbish’s adrenaline pumping; back on the base, he wasn’t the much for raw strength, having to rely more on his crossbow when it came to fights (otherwise he’d have Chingus back him up), but out here without a weapon, he was amazed at how well he was faring! It felt as if his snake-instincts were helping direct his moves--- when to dodge and when to strike, his new strength helping him get a grip on one Manticore and pulling it down, his coils wrapping around its abdomen and neck, strangling it until it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

It wasn’t until a giant sand-snake popped up that they had a challenge, for the massive beast was just as quick as they were. Thankfully, Swaine always carried a gun on him, and WG used portals to get a drop on it and hack at it with her machete until the monster was defeated.

“This is fantastic! I bet I could take out a whole army on the skirmish fields with these maneuvers!” the young pirate exclaimed, looking around after the sand snake fell. “Any more sorry louses hangin’ around for a bout?”

“Nah, I think it’s clear,” WG replied, putting away her machete. “Well, at least we know your speed and strength come in handy,”

“That’s two things, right? That means we can find out one more benefit and be back to normal!” Swaine said in hope.

Suddenly there was a flash of light, and a couple little cards floated down in front of the two. “Oy, what’s this?” Khunbish questioned aloud, picking up the card. He arched an eyebrow, as did the thief, and the two of them compared cards.

Both read the same thing:

_Benefit #1: Advanced Stamina_

_‘Seen most notably in defense, nagai are known to have large amounts of vigor. This includes speed, strength, and flexibility. They often use these skills in hunting when trying to catch and subdue prey, but more sophisticated nagai prefer to use their keen instincts for protection when it comes to threats, their senses kicking in when a loved one is in danger. However it is wise to note some nagai will act on impulse, so be careful not to alarm them!’_

“Seriously?! They’re counting every skill as one benefit?!” Swaine snapped.

“…sounds like a trick me mates ‘n’ I would pull on newbies in training…” Khunbish muttered.

“That is ridiculous, but it does make sense. If you guys only liked your appearance because of your new skills, you probably wouldn’t be appreciating being Nagas--- you’d just be appreciating your powers.” WG guessed, looking over the cards. “…but what does it mean by you acting on impulse?”

“I dunno, I’ve never felt any impulses. How ‘bout you, Swaine?” Khunbish asked.

Swaine paused, thinking about last night when he ravaged his late night meal--- the animalistic look in his eyes, his sudden hungering for more to devour… the dream of hunting down in the Vault of Tears, his appetite desperate enough that he would swallow a living creature raw…

“Swaine?” WG asked.

Swaine shook his head. “Sorry. I’m fine… just hungry, still.” He replied quickly, turning to WG. “How about opening a portal back to the Inn? We can order room-service again,”

“…if we didn’t drive th’ cook to drink, y’mean.” The archer said out of the corner of his mouth.

“I can get you guys something. Nagas--- or, ‘nagai’--- eat a lot, but I bet I could round up enough breakfast,” WG offered.

“Please, WG, I don’t want ye to go broke because of me--- us! …What makes ye think ye can afford to feed a couple o’ long-bodied men like us?”

“I once had to buy dinner for Shaggy Rogers,”

Khunbish gave her a look. “No ye didn’t…”

“…Okay, I didn’t, but I wanted to--- had he not filed that restraining order. But seriously, if all else fails, I’ll just ask my OC Brielle Shereba for food funds. She’s loaded,”

“Ehhh, I don’t like ye borrowing money just because…” he slowed down his pace, looking back. “Hm? Oy, Swaine! Ye okay?”

WG looked back, seeing Swaine had stopped, spacing off. She followed his gaze, worried he spotted another predator…

Quite the opposite. A small Quiverine pup was sitting in the shade under a rock, the poor spiky-furball whimpering for its mother.

Before the fangirl could squeal over the adorableness, she looked back at Swaine… who took off like a shot after it! There was something wrong though--- his jaw was clenched, he was leaning forth as if to nab it, and his eyes were glowing yellow with a gaze of wild hunger.

Gasping, WG opened a portal, quickly grabbing the pup!

*BAM!*

…leaving Swaine to slam into the rock. “…owww…” he groaned.

The pup wriggled out of WG’s grip, taking off. She watched it run, thankful to see a couple other Quiverines walking over a dune, one of them licking the pup before they all trotted off. She turned back to Swaine… who at the moment was unconscious.

“What th’ hell was that all about…?” Khunbish asked, stunned.

WG propped Swaine up, opening a portal. “Impulse… C’mon, we’d better get you guys food--- _fast_.” She said.

Without another word, they went through the portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes, at long last, here's a new chapter! Also, just to ease some confusion, I want to remind everyone that this takes place during winter; Persona Q 2 (English) was still a work in progress during that time--- even though several of us pre-ordered the game already xD *is it June yet?*
> 
> I've been pretty busy these days too. I'm still working on cleaning out my old house (it's a mess), and have been working at my job and babysitting in the late afternoons, and my free time has been used to get housework done if not recuperate. But do not worry! As long as I'm alive and breathing, I will update when inspiration hits! (...On a related note, whoever keeps sending flowers and 'Sorry for you loss' cards to my house due to my absence--- stop it! I'm not dead!) 
> 
> Now leave a nice little review, please. Reviews are what motivate us authors, y'know ^^


	9. Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Yuni30 for inspiring some ideas for this chapter!

Once back at his room in the Inn, WG lied Swaine down on the bed. Instinctively, the thief ended up curling up, his coils wrapping around a couple pillows. There was a large bruise on his forehead, courtesy of his collision with the rock. Grabbing a cold wet washcloth, the authoress draped it over his forehead.

“I’ll go talk to the front desk about giving us some more food.” Khunbish told her, as they quietly exited the room. “From the looks of it, Swaine’s got one helluva appetite!”

“I don’t think that’s it…” WG said, crossing her arms. The look in Swaine’s eye--- that hellish glow of pure lustful hunger--- still gave her chills. “Naga instincts or not, Swaine wouldn’t lose control like that. …Look at you. You’re probably just as hungry as he is, but you’re not trying to swallow things whole.”

“That be a good point…” the archer rubbed his chin, inching forth as a snake’s way of ‘pacing’. “That note we got talked about ‘nagai impulses’… but we ain’t been snakes long enough to lose our human wits!”

“That’s what I’m saying. …There’s more to it than that. We just have to figure out what.” She shook her head, sighing. “But until then, the most we can do is keep your appetites satisfied. You go to the front desk, I’m going to go hit up a few restaurants. …Oh! Remember, you guys can’t have any sweets, but spices are okay.”

“Gotcha!”

With that, the authoress dove through a portal, while Khunbish went downstairs.

The moment he reached the front desk, there came a loud gasp. Looking over, he cringed; giving a nervous smile and a short wave, he did his best to keep things casual. “Oh… good morning, Esther.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It took a while, but after convincing all four of their Persona Protagonists about Junpei and Ryuji’s odd behaviors, Kanji managed to find a solution in getting his friends to fill him in on their odd behavior.

The only downside? They preferred to talk to only one of them in private, choosing Yu Narukami.

The Persona 4 protagonist sat with the twosome in the Velvet Room, the door locked so no one could try to eavesdrop on the conversation. “…So that’s the gist of it.” Ryuji told Yu. “Swaine and Khunbish turned into a pair of half-snake freaks, and we’ve been trying to find some helpful information to help them break their curses.”

“You can’t let anyone else know, though. They’re already hiding out at a hotel, the last thing they’d need is a bunch of people coming around and making them feel like some zoo exhibit.” Junpei added.

“I won’t tell anyone. Tell me again how the curse can be broken?” Yu asked.

“They have to come up with 3 benefits to being nagas. …We tried looking stuff up online and in comics, but there wasn’t anything that made being half-snake sound good,” Ryuji replied.

Yu rubbed his chin. “You know… some of our Personas happen to be half snake. Maybe they could give us some information,” he theorized.

“No way! We can talk to our Personas??” Junpei questioned.

“Oh yeah. When you summon them, you can converse with them. …It’s weird, no one else has tried it before.” Yu then summoned Raja-Naga, crushing the card in his grip.

Instantly, the Persona appeared. _“What command do you wish on me?”_ the Persona asked.

“We actually need your help. …Junpei? Ryuji?”

The baseball player and track star had been staring, snapping out of their gaze when their names were mentioned. “Er, um… can you tell us… what’s it like being a Naga?” Junpei asked first. “What are the perks?”

_“Oh… you wish to learn of my species? Hmm… odd, not many Persona users take time to get to know us. Very well, if you must know… being a Naga is not as exciting as you may assume. I cannot stand the cold, and my hunger is hard to satisfy. However, we are a Noble race, believed to be protectors of Buddha and other enlightened beings; My race specifically is the top echelon of the Naga monarchy.”_ Raja Naga explained.

“So you’re royalty! That’s a plus!” Ryuji exclaimed.

“Um, dude? Swaine’s already a prince.” Junpei told him.

“Oh… right. Um, what other good things can you tell us about nagas?”

_“We are highly defensive. Often, Raja Nagai will lead other nagai when they are not protecting others. During times of war, many Naga Kings stood against armies alone in order to protect their kingdoms. Our speed and strength serve well in battle, and some of us are even blessed with The Gaze of Nagisa--- a hypnotic glare that put our enemies in a trance. Some of us even have poisonous venom that can stun or kill foes.”_

“Uhhh… that’s all cool, dude, but… is there anything about your species that doesn’t involve attacks?” Junpei questioned, having doubts that their friends would find this enthralling (or worse, get some mischievous ideas).

_“Hm? You are not impressed?”_

“It’s not that. Two of their friends were cursed to being nagas, and they have to think of 3 benefits in order to change back human.” Yu told his Persona.

_“I see. …I find it puzzling. I am quite happy with being a Raja Naga--- though, if they are common nagas, I suppose they would find it difficult to seek contentment. I cannot truly say what all the benefits are outside of my skills for battle, as that is our primal instinct--- to fight and defend. If your friends wish to break their curse, I am afraid they will have to find happiness on their own. Experience is often the best way to gather information--- just hearing about good things is not always enough.”_

“I guess that’s a good point…” Ryuji considered.

“Okay, one more question.” Junpei spoke up. “What if one of them has a fear of snakes?”

_“A naga-cursed person with a fear of snakes, you say? Hmm…”_ Raja Naga rubbed his chin, deep in thought. _“I only can think of one saying, one I should put into words of your modern era.”_

“Yeah?”

_“…He’s screwed.”_

With that, Raja Naga disappeared.

“Well that was helpful…” Ryuji deadpanned.

“So they’ll have to figure it out on their own? Oh man…” Junpei sighed. “Swaine’s not gonna be happy about this.”

“There could be a benefit in this, though.” Yu stated as he stood up. “You guys worked really hard to find a solution to their problem… I think one good thing that came out of this was that they know how much their friends care,”

“Are you saying if we keep showing support, it might help them break the curse?” Ryuji guessed, then looked at Junpei. “…Is this fic filed under ‘Disney’ or something?”

*CRASH!*

The trio jumped, watching as a wall crumbled. “You just HAD to break the fourth wall, didn’t you?” Junpei sneered.

“HEY! What the hell is going on in there?!” came a shout as someone was pounding on the door. “Sanada, Aragaki, are you two competing and breaking shit again?”

The baseball player flinched. “Ah, shit, it’s your ex gym-teacher.”

Stepping out quickly, the trio found Kamoshida standing by the door. “What crashed?” Yu asked casually.

“Don’t give me that! What are you three up to?” Kamoshida asked, giving them looks.

“(Damn, we’re getting asked that a lot today),” Ryuji whispered.

“Nothing. The guys wanted to see one of my Personas,” Yu replied, walking on coolly. The other two followed. “Is everyone ready to go over lines… or is the staff still asking for you to do an Albert Wesker impression?”

Kamoshida sneered. “Shut it, ‘Izaya Orihara’--- you and Edward Elric and Saitama better keep out of trouble. I already got 3 kids at home to take care of, I don’t need to be babysitting a bunch of teens, too!”

“You do realize you called us three of the cooler anime characters out there, right?” Junpei quipped.

The adult rolled his eyes. “Just stop sneaking around,” With that, he began to walk away.

By this point, Margaret was walking into the Velvet Room… only to furiously storm back out. “Why is one of the walls caved in?!” she fiercely demanded.

Kamoshida immediately turned… seeing clouds of dust where the three teens once stood. “HEY!”

Said trio were sprinting through the cinema lobby. “Don’t look back, that woman has a look that would put the Gaze of Nagisa to shame!” Yu told his friends.

“Keep running, keep running--- ah! My leg!” Ryuji grunted, his bum leg beginning to flare up.

Junpei grabbed his arm, helping him stay up. “Shake it off! Remember there’s something worse behind us!”

As they ran, they passed Kanji. “Oi! Senpai! What did they tell ya?!” the rebel called.

_“They did WHAT?!”_ came Mitsuru’s bellow from around the bend. Seconds later, she, Margaret, and Kamoshida came around the corner.

“Secret! Can’t talk! Life at risk!” Yu replied quickly to Kanji, as he continued to run for his life.

“There they go!” Margaret shouted.

Kanji stood there, watching as everyone raced passed. He blinked once. Twice.

“…forget I even asked.” He muttered, deciding to put off his questions.

For now.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He woke up feeling hungry.

He looked around, everything seemed different, as if the world had a green tint to it.

He hissed, slithering out of bed, his appetite too strong to overcome.

…

WG was walking down the hall towards his room when she saw the door ajar. She caught sight of him down the hall, but something wasn’t right. She froze, seeing he had discarded his shirt, scales having grown up his back and arms, his complexion a pale green color. Something wasn’t right about him, and her only thought was to quietly sneak down the stairs to the lobby and call for help.

*creak*

The floorboard beneath her betrayed her, as in a flash her friend turned towards her…

Or the creature who used to resemble her friend.

Piercing yellow eyes peered into her soul as Swaine let out a malicious hiss, baring fangs and a forked tongue.

She held still, remembering tips that if you were near a snake, you shouldn’t make a move or else it would strike. “S-Swaine…?” she whispered.

“You… you did this to me!” he snarled, slithering towards her.

“I-I’m sorry! Swaine… I’m so sorry!” She sobbed.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it.... I’m cursed, and it’s your damn fault you wretched bitch!”

“P-Please!” It was taking all her strength not to run. Maybe if she concentrated, she could open a portal between them. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help you!”

“There’s only one thing you’re good for… _to satisfy my hunger_.”

She made the mistake of taking a step back. “Wait!”

His jaw suddenly unhinged, his mouth opening wide in a monstrous way as he leaped forth, hearing her scream.

…

…

…

But it wasn’t her screaming.

Swaine gasped, opening his eyes. He had been dreaming…

Worse, he was wandering in his sleep…

And during that wandering, he ended up colliding with Esther.

The familiar tamer sat before him, stunned. “Swaine… w-what…?” she stammered.

Gasping louder than he wanted, Swaine stood up, backing away. “E-Esther! What…?!”

“I-I saw Khunbish down in the lobby… I was helping carry food up to his room.” Beside her lay a spilled tray of fruit, but she was paying it no mind. “You mean… it happened to you, too?”

Swaine began to hyperventilate. The hall seemed to be spinning.

A portal opened as WG stepped through, pausing when she noticed the moment of tension. “Oh snap, what happened?” she asked.

Without another word, Swaine turned to her, gripping her by the shoulders. “Open a portal.”

“W-What? Why?”

“Open a portal and take me away from here! NOW!”

Giving a jolt, the authoress didn’t hesitate and opened a portal; ignoring Esther’s plead for him to stay, the thief dove through the portal to a location away from the frightened look on her face.

He didn’t exactly know where he was, but he hurried into a room and shut the door before burying his face in his hands. Finding a bright side to this situation deemed itself impossible. Even in his sleep, his impulses went wild… had he not woken up, he could have hurt one of his closest friends. Suppose it got worse? Suppose the nightmare was a dark vision of what was to come?

_I can’t do it…_ the thief confessed to himself.

The burden just felt too great.

…

…

…

He sat there in silence, until he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes I gave Kamoshida a cameo. No, he's not going to be a villain here. Any more questions?


	10. Sleep after a Meal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anti-Twilight Forever is my 'brother' account on Fanfiction.Net; ATF is my oc twin brother. You can learn more about him if you wish on the other site.   
> Okay, now back to the story!

Esther had grown used to the bizarre. Living in a world of magic helped numb the shock of whatever strange occurrence took place. Zombie outbreak? She was reminded of the manna incident. Evil fiend trying to destroy all in their sight? Practically how she spent her weekend. Authors trying to ship her and Swaine together in a romantic fic? …That’s when she brought out the big guns.

Whether it was an evil foe or a magical disaster, she was always ready for whatever oddities that graced her world familiar. So when she went into the Cat’s Cradle to drop off a familiar for Derwin to examine, she was only half-surprised when she saw that one of her sequel’s companions had been cursed… her surprise vanishing when he calmly explained that he was exploring with Wherever Girl, and she didn’t need to hear any more details.

What did surprise her was the fact that Swaine was cursed as well… which she didn’t learn until he ended up colliding in her in the hall. Before she had a chance to ask him if he was okay, he immediately had the authoress open a portal and bolted--- the fear in his eyes, the shame on his face, and his long green snake-body being the only things that she could memorize in that rushed moment.

The familiar tamer stood there, looking where the portal had disappeared. WG had gone through a new one, claiming she was going to go find Marcassin and inform him of the situation.

At this point, Khunbish came climbing up the stairs. The pirate had been placing (yet more) large orders for room-service. When he saw the stunned look on the girl’s face, he grew concerned. “Esther? What happened?” he asked.

“Swaine…” Esther began, but couldn’t quite describe what happened. She looked at Khunbish, giving him a stern look. “Why didn’t you tell me he was cursed too?!”

The archer cringed, his tail scrunching up behind him. The way she scolded him reminded him too much of Tani’s fiery spunk. “I… ah… well… h-he didn’t want ye to know, miss. He only let a few people know--- mainly the ones who saw him transform, and said he was only willin’ to let Oliver visit… He was a bit worried Drippy an’ yourself would make comments about his condition. …T-To be honest, I don’t want any of my mates to see me like this, either. Batu, Tani, Master Roland an’ King Evan are the only ones who have seen me… any more than that, and… well, it would be hard to walk through the kingdom without hearing a wise-crack,”

Esther let out a disappointed sigh, crossing his arms. “…do you really think we would be that cruel? I can’t speak for Drippy, but I’m not one to mock someone who’s going through a difficult time. I know Swaine and I swap comments, but… making fun of him for being cursed as a naga, especially when he has a fear of snakes? I wouldn’t go that far!”

“How’d ya know he hates snakes?”

“Ha, it was evident the first time we entered the Vault of Tears. …He must be so scared right now. What really gets me is he’s so self-conscious about it, he can’t even trust one of his friends to lend their support.” She looked at Khunbish. “How long have you two been like this?”

“Since yesterday morning,” The archer slithered down the hall, the bard following him. “Ye be right, he is scared… in fact, he has a right to be. He wasn’t acting right earlier today. According to Wherever Girl, the stress is worse for him… in my thinking, the stress mixed with his fear causes him to lash out, and he can’t control his actions.”

“Can’t control his…? W-What happened today?!”

The pirate sighed. “We’s was out in th’ desert in my side o’ the world. It was all goin’ great, we found a benefit for our conditions. All of a sudden, though… Swaine just shot off after a Quiverine pup. WG opened a portal an’ yanked it out of his way.”

“Oh my goodness… w-what would make him do that?”

“At first we figured it was the hunger pangs--- see, nagas need to eat a lot. But then she pointed out that I had eaten about just as much as he has, but wasn’t trying to attack anything. …Oi, ye’d be an expert on animals, wouldn’t ya Esther? Any theories?”

The familiar tamer rubbed her chin, thinking. “…Well, what you said about how bad it impacted him is true, then there’s his hunger… I know that when snakes, or any animal, are stressed and/or starved, they have a tendency to act on impulse. But Swaine’s still human enough to have some sort of control! Unless… this is harder on him than we’ve realized.” She turned around, walking towards the stairs. “I’m going to go find Oliver. It will be easier to give Swaine some support with him around,”

Khunbish nodded. Seeing the fruit spilled on the ground, he knelt down and began picking it up, taking a bite out of an apple as he went back to his room. During his conversation with Esther, he noticed room-service had dropped by and left some trays. Lifting one, he found a babana-split and--- unable to resist--- engulfed the delicacy.

Seconds after he swallowed he gave a lurch. “*Hurk!*”

Clapping his hands over his mouth, he shot over to the toilet, vomiting up not only the sundae, but most of the food he had eaten that morning! Suddenly he began to sway, dizzy and feeling green with nausea. _Shit, that’s right… we can’t have sweets… dammit…_ he thought, before slithering over to the bed and collapsing.

His stomach felt empty yet heavy, and he curled up in his coils. It was times like this he wished someone was around. Back on the base, whenever someone got too sick to stand, they were bedridden, and their mates would be checking in (so long as they weren’t contagious), doing what they could to help them feel better.

He shut his eyes, drifting to sleep…

Ending up having one helluva fever dream.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

If it wasn’t for the fact that this person had black hair and dressed feminine, Swaine would have believed WG had followed him… but instead it was her brother--- Anti-Twilight Forever, or ‘ATF’ for short. “What the hell do you want?” the thief bitterly murmured.

“Right now, I want to help you out.” ATF responded, sitting down next to him. He looked at his long snake body. “So my vision was correct. You did turn half-snake.”

Swaine gave him a look; he forgot ATF was psychic. “What?! And you couldn’t have given me the heads up?!”

ATF rolled his eyes. “Swaine, you know for a fact that when someone has a ‘vision’ and tries to act against it, bad things happen to good people. Plus, it’s never set in stone, so it could have happened to Junpei, Ryuji or even my sister. …That, and I thought it was a kafka dream from a peanut-onion sundae I ate the other night.”

The thief shook his head. It was lucky this kid was also immortal, because he felt like strangling someone. “Figures. …Can you at least tell me how I’ll change back?”

“Nnnnope. That’s something you gotta do on your own. I can’t just ‘summon’ visions--- they come at their own…” ATF paused, his eyes turning white for a moment, before he blinked. “…time. (Boy, so that’s how _Endgame_ was originally going to turn out…)”

“…great. Nothing’s ever easy, is it?” Swaine stood up, finally taking in his surroundings. He shivered a bit, finding the room he was in was cold. There were sketchbooks on a small stand with a camera and colored pencils, plushies placed here and there on the shelf bed and dresser, and (judging by the smell of a stain somewhere) there was a dog here. Piecing it all together, he let out a heavy sigh. “Is this your sister’s place?”

“Yeah. …Don’t worry, her animals are staying with me.” ATF rubbed the back of his neck. “I… figured it would make it easier for you to hide here.”

Swaine scowled. “Because you’re worried I’d attack and eat them, right?!”

“Attack and eat---? No! I’m talking about her shiba inu, Kinny! She sees that tail of yours slithering by, and you’ll have a manic furball trying to tear it off! Or she might attack the other dog, Sophie, out of tension. Her cat TC… well, she’s an old kitty and having to share the apartment with another animal would probably stress her out.”

“Don’t you have animals at your place, too?”

“Yeah, but my place is bigger so everyone will have their own space.” ATF looked at him a little bit. “…Seems like her pets aren’t the only one dealing with a lot of stress and tension. If there’s anything you need, just say so.”

Swaine held his stomach. He shut his eyes, wincing as he thought about his nightmare. “I need food--- lots of it. Just… bring me all that you can, and make it---“

*clink clink*

The thief did a double-take. In a split second, ATF had opened a portal and spread out a long table filled decorated with a feast! Roasted chicken, smoked ham, sizzling turkey, casseroles, masked and baked potatoes, pastas, salads, bread and butter all lined down the table as if the boy was holding a banquet!

“…quick? Hold it! How did you set this up so fast?!”

“Tch. Dude. I had to work with Shaggy Rogers on set for one of my stories. I LEARNED to have a buffet prepared in five seconds flat!” ATF replied matter-of-factly. He looked at the spread. “…this is one of my smaller courses. Dig in!”

Swaine drooled at the sight, but shook his head. He had to control his cravings. Doing his best to eat steadily, he sampled each morsel first… but after a couple minutes, found himself greedily devouring a few pieces, stopping himself in order to get a grip. Often he would pause and look over at ATF, who was making no comment or disgusted faces, but casually sitting by texting on his phone. The only time the lad spoke was to offer him some water!

After a good fifteen minutes, the gunslinger felt full, his hunger satisfied at last. Best of all, there was some food left over, which ATF got to work moving to the fridge. “Thank you,” Swaine told him quietly, while wiping his mouth off.

“It’s no problem. I got a pet snake I have to take care of, so I treat you how I’d treat him.” As if to make his point, he set up a heat-lamp! “Here… the heater’s on the fritz here, so this should help keep you warm.”

The thief gawked. “The heater’s broken?!”

“Yeah. WG had a guy come over and check it out, but it seems the ol’ furnace is dying out. She’s working on moving into a new place,” The immortal teen walked over to said furnace; it was a wall furnace that was supposed to blow hot air, but now only let off a lukewarm heat. He gave it a whack, and an orange light glowed for a moment before fading. “Looks like this’ll be its last winter.”

“How long has it been like this?”

“Since the start of January, so about two weeks now.”

Swaine crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. “She never said anything. I could have checked it out…” he rubbed his face. “…but instead she asked me to help look for her keys. Blimey, your sister’s insane!”

ATF shook his head. “No. She’s already had someone come over and look at it, everything that could be done was done… she just pretty much admitted there was no use fixing something that couldn’t bring itself to work anymore.”

“So she just gave up?! Just because there’s a few kinks and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get better, doesn’t mean…!” He paused, giving him a look. “…I see what you did there.”

ATF gave a grin, before opening a portal. “I better go check on the animals. Stay warm!” with that, he left.

Swaine rolled his eyes. It was cold in the apartment. He looked at the heater, prying off the grate (which was easy, as it seemed it had been taken off quite a few times already) and taking a look. It was an old heater, perhaps outdated by 30 years give or take. From the looks of it, it wasn’t getting enough air-flow, but he could tell it had been cleaned out. Suddenly the pilot light went out; not good, he didn’t want any gas to build up. Finding a long-nosed lighter nearby (guessing it wasn’t the first time this thing had to be relit), he reignited the flame… it took a few tries, but when the furnace spit out some fire--- making him back up before his hair could get ignited--- it began to regulate itself.

He sighed. Moving over to the living room, he curled up in front of the TV. She didn’t have cable, and when he tried to turn on Hulu, there was an error; it seemed her wifi was also out. Thankfully, she had a dvd player and some movies. Popping in _Lord of the Rings,_ he curled up under the heating lamp ATF had left for him.

His eyes felt heavy, and he found himself drifting to sleep.

…

…

…

Marcassin, WG learned that morning, was in the middle of prepping the kingdom for the foul weather conditions Hamelin often had in winter. Unable to locate him, she left a message for him, telling him about Swaine’s relocation.

Once that was done, she went to check on Khunbish, but apparently her pirate-beau went to sleep as she received no answer when she knocked on his door. Opening a portal, she decided to go visit Junpei and Ryuji to see how they were treating the situation, as well to give the baseball player reassurance that she was doing alright and was back on speaking-terms with Swaine.

…hearing Mitsuru chewing them out for ‘destruction of property’, Margaret demanding they fix the Velvet Room immediately, and Yu sobbing and begging for mercy… yeah, she decided she would call them later.

Returning to her apartment, she let out a sigh. It was cold, and she didn’t want to bring her naga-cursed friend to such a place, but in the moment of panic she opened a portal to the first place that popped into her head. _I’ll ask Swaine where he wants to go. This place isn’t good enough for him at all,_ she thought, her nose twitching at the sour smell of soot from the heater and the foul scent of old stains on the carpet.

She paused, hearing the TV on… and saw Swaine coiled up in front of the TV, face resting on his arms.

Grabbing a large blanket off her bed, she draped it around him, covering as much as she could. She grabbed a couple more blankets to add as much warmth to him as possible. Once he was covered, she sat down on the couch, curling up herself.

Once he woke up, they could talk.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The heater scenario is reference to a problem I actually had this winter. I've had quite a few, and bare with me if at some point they come up here; but mostly I'm trying to focus on our snek-bois. ...and hopefully our Persona bois will still be alive, mainly because Ryuji is needed for Khunbish's side.   
> ...Those of you who checked out my fanart on DeviantArt know what I'm talking about xD


	11. Friends Can Talk to Each Other, Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild warning because of Lamia's use of adult conversation xD

 

After a long lecture about respecting property, telling the truth, and making sure not to make any fourth-wall breaking statements in certain areas, Junpei, Ryuji and Yu were released from the office… though were told 20% of their paychecks would be used to repair the wall in the Velvet Room. Should an incident like this happen again, Margaret stated promisingly, they would be cleaning the room every night until the game’s release.

By this time, they were an hour behind in their schedule, and the cast didn’t finish the scene until 7:30 PM. With everyone tired from rehearsing lines and practicing techniques, it was safe to say many of them would be sleeping throughout the weekend.

Save for three…

Junpei was on his way back to the Persona 3 side of their gamiverse, walking with Minato through the gateway. “So what were you and Narukami-san talking about?” Minato asked. “Kanji was pretty uptight about it,”

“I can’t really say anything out here in the open… Hey, do you have any snake-like Personas?” Junpei asked in turn; the Wild Cards had several, perhaps there were more who could help with the predicament.

“Only Lamia. …Why, do you want to use her in PQ for something?”

“No… well, I do need her help… But it’s a private discussion.”

They walked to Paulownia Mall, where they slipped inside the [other] Velvet Room, thankful to see the incident in the PQ universe was not reenacted in the P3 universe. Igor was absent, as was Elizabeth. “Okay, tell me what’s going on before I summon Lamia.”

“Promise to keep it secret, first. It’s… kinda personal.”

“I promise.”

Junpei gave a nod, telling Minato what he had told Yu earlier that day--- from the trip to the Vault of Tears to how Swaine and Khunbish got cursed, and the only solution was to find 3 benefits. “Raja Naga said they would have to find them on their own, but maybe Lamia can give us some extra pointers.”

“Huh. Being half-snake sounds cool… Sure, let’s see what she has to say,” Minato then took out his Evoker, pointing it at his head. “LAMIA!”

*Pow!*

With the pull of a trigger, there was a flash of light, as Lamia appeared before them. _“Ah, young master… what is it that you wish of me?”_ she asked in a smooth, seductive tone.

“We need to know some benefits to being half-snake to break a curse. Can you tell us a few?” Minato asked.

“ _Presumably_ ones that don’t involve killing people!” Junpei threw in.

 _“Hmm… That is difficult for me to answer. I, too, had been cursed by Hera--- turned into a snake and forced to kill and devour children. However… One benefit is my ability to charm young men,”_ She stood upright, flaunting her hips as she slithered around them. _“Contrary to popular belief, lamiai are known to be quite keen in seducing others. We are also excellent at love-making… that is, before we devour our ‘beaus’, hm-hm-hmm…”_

“Ahhh… I don’t think that’s the kind of plus we’re looking for,” Junpei replied (while also making a mental note to avoid hitting on half-snake babes).

“Are there any other facts you know?” Minato asked Lamia.

 _“Yes, but none that you would find pleasant. …However, there is one legend you could try. It is said that, in order to humanize a naga--- similar to my species but not as seductive--- a man or woman has to wear several layers of clothing. They must strip in front of the naga, who in turn must shed their skin until they have human legs; once the person runs out of clothing, they must make love to whatever form the naga is, whether they are human or not.”_ Lamia said, having a coy smile. _“Quite… provocative, I must say.”_

Junpei blushed, not exactly wanting to talk anyone into using that plan. “O-kay, are there any good benefits that DON’T involve sex?!”

“ _Hee hee, if there were, they wouldn’t be called ‘benefits’, would they?”_

“Thanks, Lamia. That will be all,” Minato said, having his Persona disappear. He turned to Junpei. “…Well, I’m never going to look at snakes the same way ever again.”

“Yeah… bummer, I was hoping there could have been something to help them out. Especially Swaine--- he has a snake-phobia,” the baseball player said, pulling his cap over his eyes with a sigh.

“It’s that bad, huh?”

“…Imagine someone asking me to go out and get drunk, dude.”

“Ouch,”

They walked out of the room and through the mall; all of a sudden, Minako ran up to them. “There you guys are!” she exclaimed. “Better get to the Dorm ASAP. Mitsuru says unless the Dark Hour hits again, no one’s allowed out past dark. We have until 9:00 to get back before they lock the door,”

“Wow, she’s really strict lately, isn’t she?” Junpei commented.

“I think it’s because of the recent stress, Mister ‘I Break Walls With My Mouth’,”

“Hey! Ryuji was the one who made the crack!”

“Ha ha, I’m kidding dude… By the way, what were you guys up to in the Velvet Room? Kanji was asking us to speak with you,”

“It’s pretty personal. I’ll fill you in later,” Junpei sighed; he hated keeping secrets from his two best friends, especially Minako as she was the only one of the two who did a Social Link with him.

“Okay… Better tell Kanji, too. I think he’s desperate for some answers behind your sneaky behavior,” Minako replied as they walked over to the train station.

“Desperate, huh? How desperate?”

“Desperate enough to follow us here,”

“What--- WAH!”

Around the corner, Junpei was yanked and pinned to the wall by the rebel himself! “…Thanks, Mina-san.” Kanji said to the FemC with a nod.

“Just have him back before nine o’clock!” Minako said, waving as she grabbed Minato by the wrist, pulling him onto the train!

“WAIT! DAMMIT, ARISATO---!” Junpei shouted at the betrayal, though his curses were ceased as Kanji leaned close, his glare booring into his eyes. “Eep!”

“Alright, Iori, you got some explaining to do,” Kanji sneered, keeping a grip on Junpei’s shirt as he held him against the wall. “You’ve been acting weird, breaking shit, and keep sneaking into the Velvet Rooms with the Protags.”

The baseball player trembled. “W-Why are you so upset about it?”

“Because if something’s going on with one of my friends, and I’m kept in the dark…!” The rebel clenched his fist, before taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly; getting angry and acting like a brute wasn’t going to make him very trustworthy to open up to. He set Junpei down, keeping a hand on his shoulder. “…I just don’t like how you and Ryuji-san acted this morning. You both have some secret that you’re only willing to tell our leaders about… Normally that only happens when something serious is going on. And the only time things are that serious with you guys is when… well… it involves your backstories.”

Junpei relaxed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh. …Well, don’t worry. We’re okay.” He gave him a reassuring grin. “Nothing bad has happened to us,”

“Then what’s up with you two, then? C’mon, we both have a Unison-Attack with Ryuji, and we shared fries and did a request together in the last PQ! Don’t you guys trust me? …Or anyone else?”

“Of course we do! The thing is… it’s not really ‘our’ secret. Something happened to a couple friends from another game, and they don’t want anyone knowing about it.”

“Seriously? What happened? Did someone get pregnant or something?”

“No! (geez, thanks for that image…)” Junpei rubbed his face; Kanji was stubborn enough to not let up until he got some clear answers. “Like I said, it’s their secret. I can’t let a lot of people know--- I only told Yu and Minato because they’re good at keeping them.”

“Yeah? Did you tell Minako and Akira too?”

“Minako I plan on telling. As for Akira, I don’t know him that well yet.”

“I see… So how come you chose to talk to Yu-senpai first?”

“Ryuji and I couldn’t decide which of our Protags to go with, so we pretty much met in the middle.”

“I see. …Well, at least our leaders are pretty easy to talk to. I bet Ryuji-kun is opening up to Akira by now,” Kanji figured, sticking his hands in his pockets as they walked. He kept his eyes on the ground. “…I still can’t shake this feeling something is wrong, though. I’ll respect your friend’s privacy, but… If there’s something I can do to help out, let me know, alright?”

“Sure thing,” Junpei folded his arms behind his head, looking up at the stars as they walked. Kanji did like animals… but did that include snakes? Normally he was better with making plushies or clothes. Maybe he could ask if the rebel could make a long cozy for Khunbish or Swaine, but it would probably need a lot of material, and it would involve blowing the secret…

Although… there was one other use for his skills that could help a friend.

“Hey, Kanji… Think you can make a plush for WG?”

“WG? …Is something wrong with her?” Kanji asked, concerned.

“She’s just been a little depressed. I think a gift from one of her ‘Best Boys’ would help,”

Kanji arched an eyebrow. _Why does that sound familiar…?_ He thought, but shrugged. “S-Sure, I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“Thanks, man.” Junpei looked at his watch. “I better head to the Dorm before they lock me out. I’ll call you up tomorrow, and we can talk about the details--- maybe go visit her too.”

“Okay. See ya tomorrow,”

With that, they parted ways.

As the rebel crossed over to PQ and headed to his gateway to P4, he paused to look over at the P5 doorway. He had the mind to go see if he could shake an answer out of Ryuji, but decided he had prodded enough as it was. Plus, he had a feeling Ryuji would be opening up to him in time.

Chances were, he was probably telling his whole team about it by now…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

“I don’t care, Ryuji.” Akira muttered as they walked through Shibuya; Morgana was asleep in his pack, worn out from the day. On the way home, Ryuji had asked if he could summon a snake-like Persona, claiming he wanted to ask a few questions… but the bespectacled leader was nonchalant, claiming he was too tired and just wanted to head to LeBlanc and sleep.

His friend, of course, tried to persuade him, eventually bringing up it had to do with a secret he and Junpei were keeping.

“C’mon, dude… You’re the only one on our team I can open up to! If I told any of the girls, they would probably freak out! …well, except Futaba-san (…she’d probably look up hentai about it…), Yusuke would want to use it for his artwork, and Goro--- well, he’d freak out with the girls, probably…” Ryuji was going on.

“I said I don’t care…” He groaned, trying to get the hint across. “I’m too tired to deal with anything, tonight. Plus, if it’s a secret, you should keep your mouth shut about it!”

Ryuji gave him a look. “…geez, I was only asking for your help. Can we try going to the Velvet Room tomorrow, at least?”

“Why, so you can break the walls there, too? …Listen, Ryuji, just because I play a dependable leader who socializes in order to gain powers for my Personas, doesn’t mean you can come to me with problems or secrets outside the storylines. I’m going to go home, and--- like Morgana always tells me--- go to sleep.”

The track star sneered. “Geez, why are you being such an effin’ dick?”

“Sorry, but I don’t want to hang out, I don’t want to resolve any problem, and I don’t want to be associated with anything that had you and Junpei cause the delays today. It’s late, and I feel really burned out. Plus, you’ve already talked to Narukami. I don’t think you should be spreading it around,”

Ryuji sighed. “…I just really want to tell you about it. I mean, we’re best friends! I can trust you! …Right?”

“Ryuji… We’re only best friends in the storyline. Otherwise… we’re just co-stars who happen to be friends. If there’s something personal going on, I’m not really the best person you can come to. Protags like me are basically scripted with different answers; unlike Yu and Minato, I haven’t really spent a lot of real time with you or the others to know the right words to say. And if this secret of yours is really personal… well, you should talk to someone you’ve known longer.”

The track star looked at him, a bit downhearted. “…but I always considered you a best friend, even off the set…”

“We’re still friends… just not that close.” Akira gave him a nudge. “Tell you what, after we’re done with this crossover game, we can hang out for real. ...I heard they’re going to make us do a remake, so maybe we can come up with fresh material. Sound good?”

“I guess…”

“I gotta get to LeBlanc… See you around,” With that, Akira left.

Ryuji turned and walked home… before clenching his fists and taking off in a sprint, running as fast as he could so no one could see the misty look in his eyes.

He ran until he reached his house, running through the door; he heaved, out of breath, looking around in desperation for the only other person he could talk to. “Mom?” he called. There was no answer.

Quickly, he took out his phone, noticing there was a message he had missed. Apparently his mom was working late, meaning he was going to be home alone tonight.

Normally on nights like this, he would pass time playing a videogame or watching a movie, staying up until she came home. But tonight, he didn’t want to be alone…

Taking a deep breath, he sent his mom a text message.

_[Going to stay over with a friend. Be home in the morning.]_

He waited several minutes, before she replied back with her granted permission. He then grabbed his bag, packed it with a clean outfit, and took off.

He ran and ran and ran… until finally he reached another Gateway---one that helped connect games to each other, without the use of a portal-maker or magic spell. This one had a panel by it, listing millions of locations to millions of other games.

Punching in the place in the search engine, he found his selection and, at a press of a button, the gateway opened for him, and he ran through.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yeah, yeah, I wrote Akira horribly, but not every protag has to be perfect! Geez! 
> 
> ...No flames in the reviews. I have a killer rabbit, and I'm not afraid to use it!
> 
> (and since I'm expecting someone to point it out, YES the Gateway IS sort of like the portal from Treasure Planet. It's called inspiration, now shush up!)


	12. Emotional Sense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave a reference to a chapter of my other fic, "Like a Father, Like A Son," on Fanfiction.net ...Ironically that chapter gave a reference to a previous chapter for this story.

_“Pierre! Look at you! What have you done to yourself?!”_

_The young boy cringed. His neatly-combed hair was now a mess, his suit-jacket was dirty, there were holes in the knees of his pants, his shoes were scuffed, and there was a scratch on his cheek. “I-I was climbing a tree, and fell into the bushes… I think I twisted my ankle…” he told his furious mother._

_“Go run yourself a bath and get cleaned up. We’ll put ice on your ankle afterwards.” His mother ushered him towards the stairs. “And from now on, no more playing outside! This is the third time this week you’ve ruined your best clothes!”_

_‘That was the point… I hate these stiff clothes!’ the boy thought as he climbed the stairs and opened the door to his room._

_The scene shifted, as he found himself on a ledge; his clothes were completely torn now, and there were more scratches on his skin. He looked up, seeing he was in the Wyvern’s cave! “Well, well, well… look what we have here! A nice meal!” one of the winged beasts cackled as they swarmed around him, picking him up with their talons and tossing him around!_

_The boy screamed until he was dropped in the center, finding himself surrounded. “No! Please! Don’t eat me!” he cried._

_“Hmph. This boy is much too scrawny to feed on… but perhaps we can get some use out of him.” The leader of the Wyverns stated. “We shall use him as bait…”_

_He was suddenly out in the open, running from various beasts. Suddenly a Wyvern grabbed him by the shoulders, its claws digging into his skin as he was carried upward, the rest of the wyverns dive-bombing the other creatures and snatching them up; back in the caves he was placed on a ledge so he could not escape, given a few scraps as his ‘reward’._

_He was running again, a bit older… a bit more wild… this time he was being chased by pirates. He was ambushed, captured, and taken to the base. They managed to tame him, giving him a new name as he had forgotten his old one…_

“Khunbish?”

The pirate groaned, groggily opening his eyes. He felt dizzy, his vision a bit blurry. “Wha…? Who---“ he began, but he felt a lurch in his stomach. Covering his mouth, he shot off towards the bathroom, throwing up a second time. He panted heavily, wincing from his heaves, before sluggishly moving back out.

“Holy shit, man! Are you sick?!” came a familiar voice. He looked over, seeing Ryuji in the doorway.

“Ryuji…?” the pirate questioned, shaking off his nausea. “What are you doing here?”

“I-I came to see how you guys were doing. Swaine wasn’t answering, so I thought I’d check on you.” Ryuji answered.

“Swaine left… Esther saw him, and WG opened a portal for him,”

Ryuji’s eyes widened. “Wherever-chan came back? W-Where is she now?”

“Calm down, she left too. Went to go tell Marcassin or something.” He rubbed his head, lying back down on the mattress.

The track star watched him, noticing how sickly he was. “You okay, Bishie? Did you catch something?”

“No, no… just found out why nagas can’t have sweets,” He curled up on the pillows, realizing he had left his blanket in Swaine’s room… though with the fever he felt, he decided to go without a blanket.

“Anything I can do? I can get you some medicine or something.”

“…heh, you’re being nice to me, all of a sudden. What gives?”

“H-hey, I can be nice! Plus, I’m not going to act like a dick to someone who lost his legs,” Ryuji sat down by him. “I noticed you’re getting around better, too.”

“Aye, an’ I can do more than get from point A to point B.” Khunbish told him about how they went out to the desert, having new reflexes and skills that helped them out in fights.

The teen looked impressed. In turn, he told him about the conversation he and Junpei had with Raja Naga, and now the royal nagai were known for protecting others. “He said you guys would have to find benefits on your own, but I thought I’d tell you some cool facts,”

“Oy, WG told us some facts she read about too. Maybe there’s more,” He looked at the clock on the wall, seeing it was late. “…I wonder if she’ll be coming back?”

“I hope she does.” Ryuji said, taking out his phone.

Khunbish paused just then, looking around. “Hm?”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know…” The archer stood up, slithering around the room. “I just… sensed something.”

“Like what? Is something in the room?”

“No…” Khunbish looked around, straining his ears for any sounds… but it wasn’t something he could hear or see. It was something he _felt._ “I think… I think me instincts are trying to tell me something is wrong.” He continued to circle around, his senses pulling him closer and closer until---

He was face-to-face with Ryuji.

“D-Dude?” the teen questioned, beyond weirded out. He tried to back away, but part of the pirate’s lower-body was behind him and he ended up falling backward--- thankfully the tail arched upward and steadied him. However the track star continued to look at the archer with unease.

“…It’s you.” Khunbish realized.

“Me? W-What about me? …And, hey, personal space man!” Ryuji sputtered, maneuvering away from the pirate.

Khunbish shook his head. “I don’t know… just… Something stirred in my senses. Like something was wrong, because… I feel like you’re… upset?” he was guessing.

Ryuji tensed a bit, but shook his head. “I’m fine,”

“There it is again!” He pointed at the teen. “Something’s bothering ya! Me snake-senses know it!”

“I told you, I’m fine!” Ryuji then picked up his bag. “Screw it, I’m out of here--- agh!”

His leg flared up again, causing him to lose his balance and drop his things. His phone fell out of his pocket, flashing on.

Despite it was a few feet away, Khunbish could read the message. “Huh? ‘Working late tonight…’ … ‘Staying over at a friend’s’… Oy, Ryuji. If ye said you’re staying with a friend, why are ye visiting me? Kinda rude to keep a host up waiting, don’t ya think?”

Ryuji grabbed his phone, but paused. “…How could you read it from way over there?”

“I don’t know. Must be part of my new skills?” He circled around until he was in front of Ryuji. His senses were going haywire, feeling a lot of emotion welling up inside the teen. “Alright, lad, what be going on? Ye tell yer mum you’re staying with a friend, but ye come here first, and it feels like there’s a great weight on yer chest.”

Ryuji sat up, hissing a bit as his leg was still sore. The pirate used his tail to help the teen prop it up, while sitting beside him. “It’s personal, man…” he said; he suddenly found it ironic, how he wanted to talk about something personal with his _supposed_ best-friend, only to be brushed off.

“I won’t press for details… but just tell me if something is bothering ya--- otherwise these instincts o’ mine won’t shut up an’ we’ll be up all night, heh.” The pirate looked at him, sensing a lot of… anguish? Fear? He couldn’t put his finger on what it could be. “Ryuji, if ye need to talk, go ahead. Ye’ve been keeping my secret well enough, only telling someone ye can trust with it solely because they could assist in some way… Let me know what ails ye, too. I won’t tell anyone if ye don’t want me to,”

Ryuji sighed. “Fine. …I didn’t want to be alone tonight. Happy?” he muttered. He waited for the pirate to laugh, make a joke even.

But the naga did neither. “Why? Haven’t you been home alone before?”

“Yeah, I normally wait up for Mom to get home… to make sure she’s okay. One time I waited for her outside of work, and she kind of scolded me for being out late and told me not to worry.”

“I see. …I take it you live in a tough neighborhood?”

“Y-Yeah,”

“And yet you came here late at night, not wanting to be alone…” He rubbed his chin; when the teen didn’t say any more (or didn’t want to, he figured), he shrugged. “Fair enough. There’s only so many times someone can stay alone. Hell, last night, Swaine ‘n’ I bunked together because we’s didn’t want to spend the first night as nagas alone, unnerved about the whole thing an’ all. …Especially when we’re used to someone being nearby; he always traveled with Oliver ‘n’ Esther if not staying with his brother in Hamelin, an’ I always camped out with my mates back at the Sky Pirate base. Ain’t nothing wrong with admitting ye feel lonely,”

Ryuji sighed, but gave a half-hearted smile. “Thanks for understanding, man.”

Khunbish nodded; he sensed that was only part of the problem, but wasn’t going to press and get the teen upset again. “Anytime.” Gently lowering his leg back down, the pirate slithered back over to the bed. “Best get to yer friend’s place, if you’re still going…”

*thump*

He looked over, seeing Ryuji had moved his bag over, the teen walking over and sitting on the bed. “I’m already here,”

He sat up, surprised. “Really? …What about yer friend back home? Akira?”

Ryuji only shrugged. “He’s… tired from rehearsals and couldn’t have anyone over.”

Yikes… he sensed a deep emotion just now. Hurt? Anger? A combination of both? Something obviously went on with the two boys, but it wasn’t his place to ask questions. “I see… Alright, buddy, make yourself comfortable then,” he said.

“Thanks, Bish--- um… Khun-kun.”

The pirate scoffed but grinned.

The two passed time, talking about different things, mostly comparing the different fighting styles both their games had, and how funny it was that both their games involved dealing with a corrupt system and making people change. They then began comparing team-mates, via who was similar to who, and what it would be like if they all traded battle-skills, before Ryuji asked how Khunbish and the others could turn into chibis… which soon turned the conversation to _Worlds of Final Fantasy_.

It was nearing midnight when they grew too tired to talk about anything else, with Ryuji dozing off first. In his sleep, he ended up snuggling up by the pirate; in turn, Khunbish curled around him, his upper-body somewhat arched near his head, while his tail wrapped around him.

He patted the teen on the back, still feeling some heavy emotions stemming from his psyche… but it was late, both of them were tired from the day. As long as he kept close, maybe it would help ease whatever negativity the teen was feeling…

He found it ironic. Just the other day, they were fighting over a fangirl… all of a sudden, he felt like he needed to aid his rival.

A card suddenly appeared in his hand. He read it, before setting it aside and going to sleep.

_Benefit #2 (Khunbish): Reader of Emotions_

_“Nagai are well known for their instincts, and much like many animals, their instincts also help them to sense emotions from others. The time they are at their strongest is when they sense someone’s fear, sorrow, or anger; in battle a naga can use these to his/her advantage… but other times, it helps them know when a friend/loved one is in need of support, to which a new instinct kicks in for them…”_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, did I forget to issue a fluff warning? :3c


	13. STOMP!

It was dark in the room when Swaine opened his eyes, only a sliver of light peeking through the curtains that hid the large window in the living room. The DVD player and TV shut off automatically hours ago, he presumed, giving the apartment a quiet atmosphere.

A quiet, dimly lit, and _freezing_ atmosphere. He looked up at the heat lamp, finding that the bulb had burned out.

He shivered, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders…

Thus when he noticed he had several piled on him.

He looked around before spotting WG asleep on the couch, one blanket wrapped around her small frame like a fluffy cocoon.

He sighed, his breath puffing out in a thin cloud that proved it was much too cold in here. Keeping blankets around his shoulders, he moved over to the thermostat…

Shit. It was WAY too cold! The temperature reading was at 0!

There came the sound of a howling wind outside, and looking out the window he saw a blizzard had struck. _Dammit, of all times…!_ The thief thought in disdain.

He looked around, finding a toolbox over on a shelf by the front door. Pulling off the grate and seeing that the pilot light (once again) went out, the thief turned off the heater and decided to work on finding the problem. The structure may be old, but there was no way he was going to let it call it quits in the dead of winter!

He peered up inside… finding to his amazement he could see in the dark! _Night vision, huh? That’s handy._ He thought, recalling that his naga-appearance gave him a boost in certain traits. His long tail was handy too, as he could reach up into the unit and clean out any soot that could be causing problems, having to dismantle the entire frame in order to get up into the pipe--- however his tail only went in so far, so he ended up using his lower body to ‘stretch’ himself upward and reach in to clean it out by hand, using an already-dirty washcloth that was lying on the table.

As he worked, he found that the heavy winds blew down into the pipe, which would explain why the pilot light kept going out. Plus, without enough air-flow due to the soot, the flames would spit out whenever it would kick on.

WG stirred, waking up to the sound of tools tapping on a pipeline, metal sheets clanging, and the naga-thief cursing lightly whenever something slipped or didn’t fit right as he put the unit back together. “Swaine…?” she asked, groggily. She looked at the clock on her phone. “It’s 5 AM… what are you doing up?”

“Trying to get some heat back into this house, that’s what.” Swaine answered, relighting the pilot while the tip of his tail turned the furnace back on. Hearing a bit of metallic clanks and knocks, it seemed the heater was finally working again. “Voila! Good as new!”

*ka-chunk*

WG watched the orange light dimly glow… then air flowed out. She reached down and felt it. “…it’s still lukewarm.”

“Huh!?” Swaine felt the air and looked at the light. She was right--- the light was supposed to be a bright orange glow, and with the temperature set at 70-degrees it should have been blowing much hotter air! “Dammit, I thought I had it---!”

“It’s okay…” the authoress sighed, patting him on the back. “I already had a guy look at it a couple weeks ago. He even replaced a part to see if that would help the pilot stay lit… but the fact is this heater can only do so much.”

Swaine gave her a look. “Why are you even still living here, then?! Your brother is taking care of your animals, you should go stay with him or something!”

“…I wondered why nothing fluffy was snuggled against me,” WG shrugged. “Well, I can’t just leave-leave. I have to make sure nothing is… completely… frozen?!”

They walked into the kitchen, and to Swaine’s horror the sinks were overflowing, with a puddle on the floor! WG grabbed a towel to mop it up, seeing it was ice! She opened the cabinets, finding little icicles on the shelf!

“Shit, the pipes froze! B-But I had them dripping…” She then ran over to a door. Inside was a room the size of a closet, with a washer and dryer. She checked the pipe behind the machine, and checking a space-heater that was nearby. “…this one still seems alright…”

Swaine stared at her a moment. Something was off about her character--- he sensed an inner-panic brewing up inside her. Slithering over, he rested a hand on her shoulder. “Wherever---“

*ka-chunk*

The pilot went out again.

WG unleashed a heavy sigh; without a word, she walked over and relit the light. It took a few tries, as the pilot was being stubborn, but after a moment it ignited. The thief grimaced, the smell of soot and cold hair irritating his nostrils.

“C’mon. It’s too cold here. We’re staying somewhere else,”

The authoress sat up, looking at him curiously. “W-We? …I figured you’d want me to open a portal somewhere else…”

“I do--- and I want you to come with me. Or at least stay with ATF or--- well, anywhere where it doesn’t feel like someone’s going to slip on ice and break their neck!”

“Okay, okay… I’ll drop you off, first. Where do you want to go?”

Swaine sighed, pulling a blanket back around his shoulders. “Let’s go back to the desert, at least so I can warm up…” he leaned against an armchair, rubbing his face. “…preferably before I pass out…”

“That’s right--- since you’re half-snake, the cold makes you lethargic!” WG quickly opened a portal, both of them stepping through to the Shimmering Sands, at the foot of Old Smokey. “Is this better?”

Swaine yawned, trying to shake off his drowsiness. “Yes, much so…” He slithered across the warm sand. He never noticed before, but it felt nice and warm against his long stomach. Lying down and resting on his arms, he let out a relaxed sigh, feeling his body heat get back to a decent temperature after a night in a cold apartment.

WG sat down beside him. Compared to the iciness of her place, the blistering heat felt soothing.

In the distance was Al-Mamoon, the oasis next to it looking cool and refreshing should they get too hot--- perhaps later they could check out the nagai’s swimming abilities, recalling a few anacondas that resided in the rainforests. However, looking at the city, she only wondered what Esther was up to since their sudden departure yesterday; she made the mistake of quickly leaving without giving the familiar-tamer the full story, and now felt it would be best to go check in with her. She dared not try to talk Swaine into going back--- not until his self-conscience anxiety decreased and he felt brave enough to face his friends.

“You should find a way to heat up your pipes,”

She blinked, looking at the thief; she figured he would have dosed off as relaxed as he looked. “Huh? …Oh, yeah. I’m going to get another space heater.”

The thief himself propped himself up on his elbow, looking at the blonde tomboy. He could sense she was uncomfortable--- just like the other day when she felt guilt-stricken for his predicament. He still remembered Junpei’s scolding, never imagining the teen to stand up to him like that--- normally he knew him for his smart remarks and wise-cracks, but rarely saw his serious side. …And when the class-clown was being serious--- well, it was best to shut up and listen.

‘Don’t just lie there, say something to her, jackass!’ he could imagine the teen grousing to him now.

“Hey… just so you know… I don’t blame you for this,” Swaine told WG humbly, tracing a circle in the sand as he spoke. “I let my nerves get the better of me, and wasn’t thinking rationally… We all should have been more careful. I’m sorry for making you feel responsible.”

He noticed her tense; for some reason, she didn’t seem to feel any better. “…I was the one who took everyone down there. I was the one who tried to take that statue. No matter how you look at it, the blame still falls on me.” She replied quietly. She looked at him. “…But I appreciate the apology. And I’ll do my best to help you find your last two benefits,”

The thief sighed. “I just don’t want you to feel guilty--- we all did something wrong. I was fretting over the statue, Khunbish was trying to take it back from me, no one suggested to leave it behind until we figured out more about it… Hell, I should have just thrown it back the moment I fished it out!” he said, repeating a few lines Junpei had mentioned the other day.

“I guess… Why did you come with me anyway, Swaine? Next to Puggsy, you never want to be around me,”

Swaine thought back…

_It was a chilly day; he had been down in the shop working on some mechanisms before checking the pipes in the boiler room. It was routine for him, making sure things were running smoothly… routine until Oliver or someone came along asking him if he’d like to partake in a quest. It had been a while, as the last time he had explored was last summer when everyone went to explore their sequel’s realm and what all was different, and he was starting to grow bored…_

_Though boredom went out the window the moment WG came by, asking if he would like to accompany her, Junpei, Ryuji and Khunbish to the Vault of Tears. “I lost my keys down there the other day, and I left my spare inside after I locked up the house.” She said to the thief._

_“Can’t you just break in through the window like you always do?” the thief had scoffed, pretending to be busy by looking at a few pipes in the boiler room (for the third time that day)._

_“She got a screen installed on it, remember?” Junpei replied. “Plus, you know the area well--- pretty much got it tattooed in your memory after the first time, heh.”_

_(Swaine quietly rued the day WG let the teen borrow her copy of the game…)_

_“We could use an extra set o’ eyes anyway, mate. The sooner we’s find them, the sooner we’s can go home,” Khunbish added, then turned to WG, leaning over suavely. “Perhaps go to my realm, and I can give you some bonus information about our DLC’s…”_

_“Would her BOYFRIEND be okay with that?!” Ryuji questioned, his tone thick with jealousy._

_Khunbish sneered back at him. “I don’t know--- he was okay with YOU marathoning ‘One Punch Man’ last week, wasn’t he?”_

_WG turned back to Swaine. “Anyway… What do you say?”_

_The thief rubbed his temples. He could say he was too busy, if not just tell everyone to go by themselves, but figured the authoress would torment him if he didn’t lend a hand. “Sure… I don’t have anything to do around here, anyway.” He muttered._

_“Great! Lets go!” With that, she opened a portal and he was pulled through before he could change his mind._

…

“Honestly, I figured you wouldn’t get out of my hair if I refused,” Swaine replied, though admitting that made him feel like a heel. He waited for the authoress to be offended and snap at him…

“Heh,” she responded instead, a slight smirk on her face. “I don’t blame you for thinking that. A lot of people assume I’ll be a thorn in their side if they don’t help me with a favor,” she leaned back, her eyes back on the city. “You could have just said no, I wouldn’t have forced you.”

The green-scaled naga let out a short breath. He looked at the tomboy once more. “Why did you ask me to come along, anyway? You already had Khunbish, Junpei and Ryuji with you--- and since one of them had explored with you already, I doubt you really needed ‘someone experienced in the area’ to help you scout around.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know… I just decided to see if you’d like to help. Oliver was busy in Motorville, Esther had to tame familiars over in the Rolling Hills, and Drippy was doing stand-up at the Cavity Club. You were the only option left,”

“I see.”

_There’s something else…_ Swaine figured, though whatever it was the girl seemed unsure of it herself. It didn’t surprise him--- the insane authoress was an enigma within herself. Some days she was just witty and loony, breaking the laws of physics or running from someone she pissed off; other days she went on a rampage and was chasing after someone who pissed her off.

(He had experience in the latter alongside another, but that’s a whole different story on a whole different site.)

However… something was different about her now. Actually, quite recently. Back when he first met her in 2013-14 on the Fanfiction net, she was all kinds off-the-walls crazy and always had a trick or quip ready, ever since _Like A Brother_ was published. Whether he was chasing after her in rage, or trying to escape being put through one of her inane plots, she always had some smart-ass wit or psychotic nature to her fictional persona.

But now… it just seemed mellow.

In fact, she had seldom shown it since they went down to the Vault of Tears.

…

He actually tried recalling the last time the tomboy acted like a lunatic, but the memory seemed far off…

Actually the last time he saw her try anything insane was exactly one year ago, when…

_He was visiting the apartments that last cold January. Thankfully that year the snow wasn’t so thick in the area. He had been walking down the hall, preparing to walk around a corner---_

_A blur shot by just then, and he looked over, seeing the short blonde rushing down the hall. He looked behind her--- there was nothing or no one chasing after her. She was just running down the hall…_

_The only problem was there was nothing but a window at the end, and they were on the fourth floor…_

“Swaine?”

The thief lifted his head, realizing he had been spacing off. “Hm?”

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” WG asked. She was shielding her face from the sun, looking like she was plenty warm now herself.

“Not really, I’m fine here,” the thief turned on his back, stretching out. He kept his upper-body in the shade of a nearby boulder. He looked at the girl, who only nodded and remained seated. “…You don’t have to hang around, WG. I mean, you’ve got some frozen pipes to take care of.”

“You’re sure?”

Swaine nodded. “I’ll probably head back to the hotel, anyway. …I have to face Esther sooner or later--- she’s probably fretting about yesterday.”

WG stood up, giving a nod. “Alright. Let me know if you need anything,” she then opened a portal.

Swaine looked, arching an eyebrow. “WG… that’s a portal to Canada.”

“Y-Yeah, sorry, it happens.” She tried opening a portal again… this time showing a thick jungle. She gave a sheepish grin, then tried again… showing the outside of Hogwarts, the Whomping Willow taking notice and swinging one of its club-like branches before the portal closed.

The thief crossed his arms. Even a nimrod could see she wasn’t concentrating. “…Not ready to go home, yet?”

She let out a sigh. “No… But I need to! I can’t let those pipes freeze!”

Swaine rolled his eyes, but had to grin. It was clear she didn’t want to leave his side in his condition--- even if her house was having a few emergencies. “Tell you what--- I’ll come with you.”

“What? Swaine, it’s freezing there!”

“Hey, I managed to survive a night! …Besides, I can help out with your pipes. If any of them break, there’s some lying around the shop back home I could lend. Plus, I want to take another shot at fixing that damn heater--- regardless if it wants to work or not, I know it has enough juice to last at _least_ two more weeks.”

The tomboy sighed--- she knew all too well the thief could be quite stubborn once he put his mind to something. “…Okay. But the moment you start feeling drowsy or can’t find the energy to move, I’m bringing you back and you’re staying here until the spell is broken!”

“Fair enough… now try opening a portal again.”

It took a couple more tries--- perhaps because the authoress was unsure about the thief tagging along--- but she managed to open a portal to the hallway on her apartment floor. Slithering through, they headed down the hall, his long lower-body trailing behind him. He never noticed before, but the carpet kind of tickled his underbelly, making him shift.

They were almost to her door--- he could sense cold air coming from it already.

Of course, something else shot up through his body in that moment.

“ _SNAKE!”_

_*STOMP!*_

“GAAAH!” Swaine yelped.

WG turned and looked at him. “You okay, Swaine?”

He didn’t respond just yet, but instead turned around and shot back around the corner…

Seeing Junpei standing there… and Kanji Tatsumi’s boot on his tail!

 


	14. Kanji Finds Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like my other Best Boy is finally involved ;)

They were walking down the hall towards WG’s apartment when Kanji noticed a long snake-tail slithering by. “Kanji, wait---!” Junpei gasped, recognizing the scaly body, but his words came too late as the rebel stomped on it!

Within that moment, Swaine shot around the corner, a furious look on his face. Kanji gawked at the sight of the snake tail attacked at his waist, just staring a moment. “D-Dude…! What the hell…?!” he sputtered.

“GET. OFF.” The thief snarled through gritted teeth.

Doing a double-take, Kanji stepped off. “S-Sorry!” he looked at Junpei. “Um… w… what’s going on? What’s with the snake-guy?!”

“Kanji… remember when I said one of my friends was having a problem? …This is it.” Junpei awkwardly stated. “Swaine was cursed as a naga.”

“A naga…? You mean one of those snake people?”

“No, Kanji, I mean someone with a bad hair day--- OF COURSE snake people!”

WG came around the corner just then. “Junpei! Kanji! …What are you two doing here?” she asked, surprised.

“W-We came by to see how you were doing! Junpei said you were feeling depressed…” Kanji was saying, but couldn’t take his eyes off Swaine.

“What are you doing here, Swaine? I figured you’d be hiding out at the hotel!” Junpei questioned.

“I was, but I ended up… er, WG decided to take Khunbish and I out to test out our skills, and Esther ended up seeing me, so I decided to take off before she could make any comments.” The thief muttered, then looked at Kanji. “Stop staring, kid, it’s rude.”

The rebel shook his head. “Sorry, sorry… so, um, how were you cursed?”

WG sighed. “Come inside. We’ll fill you in,” she said, leading everyone down the hall; she walked up beside Junpei, giving him a nudge. “(next time, call first.)”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kanji sat on the couch, listening as the trio informed him of their trip to the Vault of Tears, the statue, learning about the legend, and how to break the curse. A couple times he had to ask them to explain something, as--- unlike his gaming-friends Junpei and Ryuji--- he wasn’t too familiar with the concepts of Ni no Kuni. He only saw the fan-art (having to ‘aww’ at some of the familiars the group could acquire) and saw a few clips, but never enough to fully grasp the whole thing.

Especially after seeing a certain clip that made his heart ache…

After he managed to understand, he looked at Swaine--- currently the naga was under the sink, lightly tapping pipes (suddenly noticing the icicles on the shelf!), having gotten to work as they all told the story. “So you have to find three benefits, huh? …That might be tough if you hate snakes,” Kanji noted.

“I managed to find one advantage,” Swaine replied, using his long tail to swap out a wrench with a screwdriver, as he moved over to the heater. “My agility is a lot better, and my senses are a lot sharper (your pipes aren’t too bad, WG, just find a way to warm them up), so at least I have some skills to work with,”

“Hey, that’s two advantages! Just one more, right?” Junpei said.

“…Not really. Heightened senses, agility and the like all count as one,” WG replied.

“Damn… Oh! Hey, speaking of which, Ryuji and I talked to Raja-Naga yesterday!”

“Who?” Swaine questioned.

“He’s a Persona,” For the next five minutes, Junpei told Swaine about all Raja-Naga had told him (he decided to keep quiet about the discussion with Lamia). “He said you’d have to find benefits on your own, but I figured that info might be worth hearing, somehow.”

Swaine gave him a look. “I thought I told you to keep it secret!”

“Hey! Senpai’s good with secrets!” Kanji said in defense. “They wouldn’t have told any of the Protags if they couldn’t help!”

“You told the others, too?!”

“J… Just Minato… and I’ll have to fill in Minako, too… But they’re trustworthy! Plus, since they’re the only ones who can summon multiple Personas, and a ton of them are nagas… I-I just figured asking them questions would help find you some benefits…”

Swaine only continued to give him a look, making the baseball player cringe. WG quickly cleared her throat, breaking the tension. “It’s a nice gesture, Junpei, but you really should have consulted Swaine, first. He didn’t want anyone else finding out without his consent,”

“S-Sorry… we told them not to tell anyone, if that makes you feel better…”

The thief let out a heavy sigh. He turned to work on the heater. “Whatever… since Esther knows now, there’s a chance everyone will find out.” He muttered. He rubbed his face, feeling grogginess coming over him, but he shook it off to focus on his work.

“B-By the way… is your heater broken?” Kanji now noticed.

“It’s been on the fritz, yeah…” WG admitted.

“For how long?! There’s icicles under your sink, and I can see my breath!”

“It stinks in here, too--- no offense,” Junpei said, taking a whiff of the smell emitted from the heater.

“Yeah, I gotta go get another space-heater.” The authoress stated, pulling on a coat.

“Screw that--- you need to move!” Kanji snapped.

“I can’t afford to move right now! Until we get stuff fixed up here…”

“Go buy a new space heater. Once you get it set up… we’ll go back to the inn.” Swaine stated, putting away the tools. “I can’t really do much about your furnace right now, but if we get enough warmth in here to keep your pipes thawed, I think it will be fine.”

A portal opened just then… and ATF wheeled in a portable space-heater! “Someone need a new space-heater?” he asked.

Swaine blinked. “Are you going to work as a deux ex machina, or are you just waiting for the right time to help?” he questioned.

“Careful, Swaine--- Junpei and Ryuji already broke the fourth wall already,”

“How are my pets?” WG asked.

“Good. …I’d invite you to stay over, but my guest bedroom is being used as a kennel.” He then walked through the portal. “I’ll check in on ya later!”

Everyone blinked. “…Question: are ANY AUTHORS normal?” Junpei asked.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once the space heater was set up, WG opened a portal back to Ni no Kuni I, leading back to Swaine’s room in the hotel. The thief ended up crawling onto the bed, curling up. “You okay?” Kanji asked.

“Yeah… just tired all of a sudden. I think it’s the cold back there,” the thief said.

“The on and off exposure probably upset your metabolism. Better stay in one place for a while,” WG stated, sitting down next to him.

“If you want, I can make you something to put over your tail so it’s not so cold,” Kanji offered.

“Heh, I’ll be fine, Kanji. Thanks anyway.” Swaine replied with an assuring grin.

“…Oh! Speaking of which,” Kanji reached into his jacket, and pulled out a plush of a gray cat with its tongue sticking out. “I made this for you, WG… I saw pictures of your cat on your tumblr, and it kinda inspired me. I just finished it last night, figuring it might cheer you up.”

“Aww, it’s cute. Thank you, Kanji,” WG replied with a smile. “It looks just like TC,” she looked at the rebel. “Maybe you can see if Khunbish would like something, too.”

“Let’s go check in on him.” Junpei suggested, then looked at Swaine. “You want us to stick around, maybe go on a food-run or anything, dude?”

“Nah… ATF gave me a full buffet last night. I’m not hungry right now,” Swaine replied.

“From what I read, once a naga eats its fill, it can go 3 days without food.” WG spoke up.

“Alright, well, let us know if you need anything,” Kanji said as he and Junpei walked out. “…You coming, WG?”

“I’ll head out later. You two see how Khunbish is doing--- and lock the door behind you, I don’t think Swaine needs any more sudden intrusions.”

Nodding, the two teens left.

An awkward silence filled the room. Swaine sighed. WG shifted.

The thief looked at the girl… it was clear she wanted to help in some way. In truth, there wasn’t much she could do.

He thought back to last year…

“Hey, can you do me a favor?” the thief asked, quietly.

She looked at him. “Sure, anything.” She replied quickly. “What do you need?”

Swaine sat up, slithering around and coiling around her; he felt her tense, and for a moment he recalled his nightmare from yesterday, so he made sure to keep his coils loose enough. He rested on one side of the circle, still drowsy.

“Just… stay here until I fall asleep,”

WG nodded, though was perplexed. This wasn’t like him at all, and figured his fatigue had to be the cause. “Sure,”

She stayed quiet, relaxing after a moment as the thief closed his eyes. She looked at the clock, seeing it wasn’t too late in the morning… then recalled they had been awake since dawn, and she had gotten in late last night.

With these thoughts in mind, she folded her arms on the other side of the coils, resting her head, looking back once at the sleeping thief beside her, before drifting off herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self-indulgent writing is self-indulgent. I regret nothing!


	15. Sensitive Touch

 

_*Knock knock knock*_

_“Yo, Khunbish! Are you awake?”_

The pirate-naga let out a soft moan, groggy from his interrupted sleep. He looked up at the clock, seeing it was only 9 o’clock in the morning. “Mmf,” he grunted, planting his face on his pillow. Perhaps if he didn’t answer, whoever was at the door would go away.

Something shifted against him, and he looked at Ryuji; currently the track star was using one side of his tail like a pillow, the rest of his lower body wrapped around his waist. The teen’s eyes opened, barely squinting as he lifted his head. “Zz… huh…?” he responded, before lying his head back down. “…nngh, five more minutes…”

_*Knock knock knock!*_

_“Khunbish? (he might be asleep…)”_

The archer buried his face in the pillow, feeling too lazy to get up or answer. The teen beside him felt similar, covering his head with his arm as he turned on his back.

There came no more knocking, giving the pirate the notion that his visitors decided to try back later---

*BAM!*

“OI, KHUNBISH! YE STILL ALIVE, OR WHAT?!”

“GAAAH!” Both pirate and track star hollered, now wide awake--- then looked at each other, their now-focused minds fully aware of their position, and quickly pulled away. “GAH!”

They looked over, seeing that Tani had been the one who entered! “M-Mistress Tani! Blimey, don’t do that!” Khunbish gasped.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you it’s not polite to barge in on people?!” Ryuji questioned.

Tani only chuckled. “Well, sorry boys, but your mates here were a-knocking and were getting skeptical when you didn’t answer,”

They looked over, seeing Junpei and Kanji had entered behind her. “S-Sorry, we didn’t mean to w--- what the heck are you doing here?!” the baseball player suddenly questioned, noticing Ryuji’s presence.

“I, uh… I came over to see how Bishie was doing and ended up crashing here last night?” Ryuji answered with a shrug.

Kanji looked over, seeing the duffel bag. “What’s with the bag? Were you bringing him something?” he asked.

“Th’ lad just felt like spending th’ night in another realm. …What I’s wants to know is--- any reason why ye brought a new visitor into our midst, Junpei?” Khunbish sternly questioned.

Ryuji did a double-take. “Hey, yeah! I thought we agreed we’d only tell our protags!”

“Boy, you lot know how to keep secrets, don’t ya?” Tani stated in sarcasm, crossing her arms.

“I-It was only so we could see if their Personas had a way of giving them benefits!” Junpei answered. “And Kanji ended up stalking me! I-I didn’t tell him anything--- he found out while we were visiting WG, and saw Swaine at her place.”

Khunbish and Ryuji both did double-takes this time. “WHAT?!”

“Swaine stayed with my angel?!/He ran off to her place?! When?!” both of them questioned.

“Quiet down, you two, you’re waking the dead!” Tani snapped, silencing them. “Enough of all this ‘who spent the night with who’ business. Khunbish, did you manage to find any benefits yet?”

“Um, yes! Swaine ‘n’ I found out yesterday that we have improved skills! We’re stronger, faster, have more agility… oh! An’ last night I found out I could sense emotions from others!” Khunbish answered, showing her both cards he had acquired.

“Sweet! One more benefit, and your curse is broken!” Junpei congratulated him.

“Wait… look at it,” Tani said, pointing at the second card. “Why does it only have your name on it, Khunbish?”

The pirate looked, scratching his head. “I guess… maybe because I was the first one to notice?”

“Maybe you two don’t have to find the same benefits,” Kanji figured. “I mean, the curse affected you both differently, right?”

“That be true… I ain’t as afraid of snakes as Swaine be,”

“Aye--- you’re more afraid of getting shot!” Tani poked.

Khunbish gave her a look. “That’s not a phobia! No one likes getting shot!”

“Aye… but ye always jump whenever Roland takes his gun out,”

“If he shot YOU point-blank in the face, ye’d be jumpy too!”

“He never shot you in the face!”

“Ye weren’t there! How do you know?”

“He said he only shot you in the chest,”

“And ye believe that?!”

The three Persona boys exchanged glances. “Um… by the way, Tani, what brings you by?” Ryuji spoke up, interrupting the argument. “Just seeing how Khunbish is doing or something?”

“Oh, more than that, Ryuji…” Tani said, hands on her hips. “I’m gonna have our snake-bellied mates come out ‘n’ face the sun!”

“Huh?!” Khunbish asked, giving a jump.

“You heard me. Esther told me on Leafbook last night about how upset she was that one of her closest friends was too yellow to tell her or Oliver about his problem! Plus, you’ve been hiding in this hotel room for the last two days! If you keep being self-conscious about it, you won’t beat this curse any easier! I know Roland said we should take the whole ‘visiting hours’ situation slowly, but it ain’t working since ye two barely step out!”

“But, WG took them out to the desert, and that’s how they learned their skills!” Ryuji spoke up.

“…Were there others around?”

“Um… were there, Khunbish?”

“Ah… do monsters count?” Khunbish answered with a shrug.

“That’s what I mean! …Khunbish, I know you have the lower-body of a python, but… well after hearing about how upset Esther was last night, and doing some thinking about it, having you two go into hiding wasn’t the best option. Sure, our mates would poke fun, but only _after_ the matter was resolved! Did we ever make fun of Evan over his cat ears? Did we laugh at Bracken when we found out she had a metal leg? Of course not! So why the hell would we pick on you or Swaine?”

“Well… yeah… but what about other people?” Junpei asked, scratching his head. “When we were walking to the Inn the other day, everyone was staring---“

“Other people can mind their own business!” Tani interrupted. “What, you think we wouldn’t defend our mates if some wretch started whispering behind their backs, or tried to hunt them for being different?”

Kanji rubbed his chin, considering all this. “Hey… she’s got a point. I mean, I used to hide how I liked cute things and sewing because everyone thought it was weird, but after a while I decided to quit hiding it. And I wasn’t alone, Senpai supported me, Nanako thought it was the coolest thing ever, and pretty soon a few other people were asking if I could teach them! And when people made fun of me… well, yeah I got mad, but I didn’t stop.”

Khunbish considered all this, before giving a firm nod. “You’re right. Hiding here ain’t gonna help me change back quicker,” he agreed.

“Great! …Let’s start by getting Swaine out,” Tani said.

“Ah, better wait, Tani. WG’s place was pretty cold, and the exposure pretty much knocked him out.” Junpei told her. “Plus, you can’t really force him out… Let him rest first, then try talking to him.”

“Alright, we’ll just start with Khunbish then.” She turned to the archer. “Come an’ take a walk. Then once you’re ready, we can head to Cloudcoil Canyon--- the weather’s supposed to be nice there for today.”

“We’ll come with you,” Junpei added.

Khunbish rested a hand on his stomach. “…Can it wait until after breakfast? I ended up puking up a whole meal last night… an’ considering how much nagas need to eat, that ain’t good.”

“Blimey! What did you eat?” Tani asked, astounded. “Normally ye can scarf down large portions without so much as getting a stomach ache!”

“It’s sweets. WG had read that nagas can’t consume a lot of sugar, an’ I suppose I ate too much yesterday.” His stomach growled, and he gave a lurch. “…ugh, my stomach feels lighter than air…”

“W-We’d better get you some food. Lets head down to the front desk,” Junpei said.

“Ah…” Tani spoke up. “About that… the Purrprioter asked me to request ye two lay off the orders for the next couple o’ days; said they sent up so many portions at once that the cook demanded to have the rest of the weekend off. She suggested ye try ordering out,”

“Geez, how much did you guys eat?!” Kanji questioned, amazed.

“We’ll go on a food run! Wait here!” Ryuji exclaimed, and he and Junpei raced out the door.

“Oi! Wait up, you two!” Tani hollered, then turned back to Khunbish. “Alright, food first, then we go outside. Got it?”

“Yes, Mistress Tani,” Khunbish answered.

Tani gave a firm nod, then ran out.

Kanji looked around the room, before sitting in a nearby chair, watching as Khunbish slithered back and forth--- once in a while pausing to hold his rumbling stomach. “So… does the ground feel weird on your stomach or anything?” the rebel asked.

“Hm? …Oh, uh, I guess not. I never paid mind to it,” Khunbish shifted. “Now that you mention it, though, the carpet does feel strange as I slither on it…”

The rebel looked at his scales. He was always more into fluffy animals-- not that he hated reptiles, he just felt too cautious around them. He did remember someone in class had a pet lizard once, bringing up how their bellies are soft and smooth, and wondered if the same could be said for snakes. “What does it feel like? Your stomach, I mean.”

“At the moment, it feels empty,” the pirate then stretched out on the carpet, resting his head on his arms. “Dammit, I still feel out of it… I’m hungry, but I also feel like I’m going to pass out!”

“You sure you’re not sick?” Kanji walked over and knelt by him, checking his temperature.

“I-I’m not sick, it was just something I ate… I think.”

“Did you stay up late or anything?”

“Aye, Ryuji dropped by late in the evening, and it was well past midnight by the time we fell asleep.” Khunbish looked at the clock. “What time is it anyway? 8:30?”

“Yeah… How much sleep do nagas need? Do you know?”

“I dunno… I know they feel sluggish in cold weather,” His stomach growled again, and he curled up, groaning. At the moment, he felt sick with hunger.

“Does your stomach hurt?” Kanji rested a hand on his scaly body; the top half felt a bit rough due to the scales, and sliding his hand underneath he felt the smooth underbelly.

“Guh!” Khunbish flinched. “W-What the hell…?!”

“I figured it would help if I rubbed it,” Kanji rubbed the tail, cradling part of the long body on his lap. “Ma used to do it all the time when I was a little kid and got a stomach ache… oh wow, it’s really smooth underneath.”

“Mmf!” The pirate stifled his mouth. “K-Kanji! That… That tickles!”

Remembering himself, Kanji quickly set the tail back down, standing up; a blush was on his face. “Shit! Sorry! I-I kinda got caught up in the moment… I never pet a snake before, so I didn’t know what the texture felt like.”

“It’s… alright. But next time, ask permission! Pretty sure any other naga would have you imprisioned,”

Kanji blushed further. “I was just rubbing your stomach! I wasn’t… doing something like that! …Er, was I?”

Khunbish shook his head. “Nah, mate, it only tickled. I didn’t feel anything,” he scratched his head, looking at his lower body. Up to this point, he noticed a lack of… certain parts. “Come to think of it… where the hell is it, even?” Quickly, he shook his head. “Ah, never mind! I’d rather not know,”

“R-Right,” Kanji took a deep breath. “So… is there anything I can do for ya?”

Khunbish rubbed his stomach. “All I want is food right now… ugh, my stomach is killing me…”

Kanji rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t bring any money with him, figuring they would be heading back in a few minutes. He sat down on the bed, thinking for a moment; when he was hungry, he kept himself occupied until it was time to eat, often by talking with others or doing his hobby.

Looking at the duffel bag, a topic came to mind. “So… why did Ryuji come here? Last I saw him, he was going back home.”

“Ye got me, mate. Th’ lad just didn’t want to be home alone, is all he told me. …But what about you and Junpei? How’d ye end up tagging along with him?” Khunbish asked in return, settling beside him.

“The two of ‘em were acting weird yesterday--- they looked like they were up all night, then acted like they had some sort of huge secret. Normally Ryuji is a blabbermouth and Junpei never shuts up, and I knew the only time they were keeping quiet about something was when it had to do with their back-stories… so I got a little concerned, and asked the Protags to talk with them; they ended up talking to Narukami-senpai alone, but he was sworn to secrecy--- didn’t exactly get a chance to get an answer out of him because Mitsuru, Margaret and Kamoshida were tearing them a new one for breaking a wall.”

“Breaking a wall…? Never mind, go on.”

“After our rehearsals were over, I followed Junpei and Minato to their part of the world; I asked Minako to lead them to me so I could nab Junpei and get some answers. I was pissed because I thought something was wrong, but calmed down; Junpei opened up a little, stating that it wasn’t exactly ‘his’ secret so he didn’t want to tell everybody. Instead, he asked if I could make WG something because she was depressed. We went to visit her today… and that’s when I saw Swaine and got the whole story.”

“I see… So ye were just worried about yer friends,” The pirate had to smirk, giving a soft chuckle. “That be ironic… Last night, I was sensing some strong feelings from--- someone--- and found out I could read emotions like a book. Thing is, I couldn’t figure out what the reason was.” He looked at Kanji. “Funny, you’re not even half-snake, yet you could sense something was up.”

“W-Well, yeah! I mean they were acting weird, anyone would notice!” He looked back at the tail. “So… how does it feel? I mean, after you changed ‘n’ all that,”

“It wasn’t easy. I had to learn how to move around without falling on me face, ‘n’ had to give Swaine tips on climbing up the stairs. On the bright side, our senses are sharper ‘n’ we’re pros on the battlefield, now.” He rested his head on his hand, propped up on his elbow as he looked at the ten-feet of scales behind him. “Heh, now that I think about it, I might miss it after the curse is broken.”

“Really? …How long have you been cursed?”

“Only 3 days or so… feels like it’s been months,” His stomach gurgled again, and he let out a heavy sigh. His senses picked up just then, and he looked at Kanji--- sensing feels of awkwardness and wishfulness. “What be on yer mind, lad?”

“N-Nothing!” The teen looked away.

“Kanji… I can read emotions. Is there something ye want?”

The rebel shifted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I-I was just wondering… can I pet it again?”

Khunbish arched an eyebrow, then gave a laugh. “Oi, you’d be a weird one, lad… but aye, since ye asked this time, go ahead. It may keep me mind off my hunger pangs,”

“Don’t call me weird, or I’ll tie it in a knot!” Kanji muttered, before stroking the scales again. He avoided the underbelly this time, and kept to rubbing the back. The pirate lied down on the pillow; it felt nice, the teen was very gentle.

He shut his eyes, focusing on the gentle pets and not his starvation… though ended up thinking back to the last time he was starved.

_He was a teen at the time, locked inside a hut that worked as a cage at the edge of a cliff. He was scrawny, his ribcage easy to see; his stomach ached, having not had a decent meal for so many months it felt like it was going to shrivel up._

_It didn’t surprise him that the pirates refused to feed him after he had been captured, the Wyverns abandoning him._

_A plate was suddenly slid in front of him just then. A glass of water, a piece of bread, and a small cut of meat sat before him. He looked up at the guard--- Chingus he now knew--- who gave him a sympathetic look. “Ye may not act like it much, but you’re still a human being.” He said._

_He looked at the food, but refused to eat. He knew the pirates were only hoping to get a ransom out of him and needed him alive. If the ransom idea had been called off, there’s a chance they were going to poison him because he worked with the Wyverns._

_So despite his nagging hunger, he only curled up, refusing to touch the food._

_‘Human being, my ass.’ He thought. No one ever saw him as such._

_Not even his own parents…_

“Hey, you okay?” Kanji’s voice broke him from his thoughts.

“Hm? Er, yeah, just thinking.” Khunbish answered.

The teen looked at him; his face had developed a solemn expression while he was spacing out. The pirate had been right about one thing—the rebel may not have sharp instincts, but he could tell when something was wrong…

“What the eff is going on here?!”

…Though was interrupted before he got the chance to ask.

Looking over, they saw Junpei, Ryuji, Tani… and ATF standing there, carrying grocery bags and fast-food sacks! “Um, I didn’t drop by at an awkward time, did I?” ATF asked.

“Were we interrupting something?” Tani giggled.

“I-It’s not what you think!” Kanji sputtered, so flustered he could hardly explain.

“Ah. Lamia warned me about this--- she said nagas are known for being a fetish,” Junpei joked.

“IT’S NOT A FET--- THAT’S IT!” Kanji then charged at him!

“Yipe!” Dropping the bags, the baseball player took off in a sprint, pursued by the rebel. “It was just a joke! I didn’t mean it! Ryuji, help!”

“Oh, for the love of…! Get back here, you two!” Tani hollered, entering the hall.

Ryuji looked at Khunbish, snickering. “One bloody word, and I’ll strangle you!” The pirate sneered.

“Considering you two snuggled up last night, I don’t think he can say shiznit,” ATF quipped, while munching on a burger.

“What the--- how did you know--- I mean, where the eff did you get that idea?!” Ryuji snapped.

“Tch, dude, I’m psychic. I saw it last week! …Honestly, I thought it was a weird dream. Gotta admit, you two sure looked cute---“

“YOU ASSHOLE!” Ryuji ran at him, and with a yelp ATF stuffed the burger in his mouth and took off running…

In a heartbeat, Khunbish slithered in his path, giving him one hell of a glare. “Where do you think you’re going?!” he demanded.

“Um…” ATF held up a French fry. “…I’ll share my fries if you let me live?”

“Breathe a word and you’re a dead man!” Ryuji snarled, gripping the immortal teen by the shirt.

ATF struggled out of his grip. “Okay, okay, okay! I won’t say anything! But I DO have a question!” The two waited patiently for him to ask. He then pointed at Khunbish. “…Can I pet you next??”

“ANTI!” Khunbish snapped, and in a heartbeat the teen shot off down the hall, diving through a portal before the naga could catch him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ATF and his shenanigans, I tell you what... XD
> 
> (psst! who else wants to pet the snek-bois?)


	16. The Tale of Ditelas and Persellos

Esther was trying to recount the various oddities she had encountered throughout her life once again, but found it hard to find something to match seeing a rebellious-looking teen trying to drown another teen in the milk fountains!

“Kanji! *gurgle blub!* Stop! *glug glug* I got milk up my nose!” the teen currently getting dunked in dairy product.

“Sorry--- I figured it would all go in that big mouth of yours!” The rebel, Kanji, snapped back.

“What is the meaning of this?!” boomed the voice of Rashaad; the Great Sage stormed forth, grabbing both boys by the back of their jackets and pulling them away from the fountain. “I shall have you know contaminating the milk fountains is an offense we do not take lightly in Al-Mamoon!”

“He’s trying to kill me!/He was saying shit!” The two boys spoke at once.

“There you idiots are!” came a voice, as Tani came rushing up! She looked at Rashaad. “Sorry about this, Rashaad sir. As you can see, these blokes come from a different world,”

“Tani!” Esther called, walking over. “What’s going on? Who are these two?”

“Oh! Esther! These are friends of WG’s--- they were with her, Swaine and Khunbish when ‘that thing’ happened.” Tani motioned to the teens. “The angry-looking one is Kanji Tatsumi, and the one who’s outfit is starting to curdle is Junpei Iori. They hail from the _Persona_ universe,”

“I shall excuse penalty this time, but see to it your guests respect our customs,” Rashaad stated, releasing the twosome. He turned to Esther. “Speaking of Swaine, I heard rumors of him. People in the city have stated they had seen him with the tail of a snake! Has he been cursed?”

“Aye, he and Khunbish both,” Tani replied before Esther could. For the next ten minutes, she informed Rashaad of how their friends woke up one morning growing scales, and how they learned about the tale of Lamian, concluding with how their friends had to break the curse. “They’ve been hiding out about it for the last few days. With so many people worried about ‘em, I decided it was time they stopped acting pitiful and start talking to people again!”

“W-We tried to help them find some benefits too by talking to some naga-like Personas,” Junpei added.

“I just found out today,” Kanji threw in.

“I see… Hmm, the tale of Lamian is a story I am not familiar with. And you said the curse was afflicted by a statue in the Vault of Tears?” Rashaad asked.

“Yeah, a little statue broke, and green dust covered them.” Junpei confirmed.

“Perhaps Prince Ali and Princess Yasmina may know!” Esther exclaimed. “They lived there 100 years ago!”

“Yeah, but this legend took place so far back, hardly anyone knew about it.” Tani told her.

“We can still ask, c’mon!” Esther then took off.

“Well--- wait up! Sheesh, everyone’s just taking off today, aren’t they?” Tani turned to Junpei and Kanji. “You two head back to Khunbish. Tell him we can meet up by the oasis after he’s done eating,”

“Sure thing… though, mind if I change into some clean clothes, first? I’m starting to smell like cottage cheese!” Junpei inquired, while shooting the rebel a look. “Thanks to SOMEONE and their anger issues!”

“Go jump in the oasis and dry out in the sun. That should do it,” Kanji remarked as they walked on.

Tani then took off to catch up with Esther, who was waiting by a set of stairs. Following her, they climbed the steps until they were at the entrance of a small apartment. “Ali? Yasmina? It’s Esther!” the bard called, knocking on the door.

“Come in!” Yasmina’s voice replied, and the two girls entered. The apartment was small but quaint, having a single window that gave a view of the streets below. Yasmina was sitting on the couch folding laundry, while Ali stood in the kitchen cooking breakfast. “Welcome, Esther--- and you brought Tani! How delightful.”

“Would either of you care for breakfast? I’m making omelets,” Ali offered.

“No thank you. We actually have a question for you,” Esther replied, as she and Tani sat on some cushions in the sitting room. “Have either of you ever heard of the tale of Lamian--- son of the Naga King?”

Ali cocked his head in confusion, while Yasmina paused to ponder. “Lamian… Lamian…” Ali whispered, trying to recall.

“Son of the Naga King? Hmm…” Yasmina pondered.

“Here,” Tani reached into her pack, pulling out the scroll. “I brought this with me, in case anyone else was familiar with the legend,”

Yasmina and Ali both read the scroll. “Oh! The half-snake prince! I remember now--- we used to tell stories like this when we were children,” Ali replied. “Although, the tale was told several ways.”

“Yes. One version involved the prince being in love with a human girl, but was too afraid to show her his real form; in the end, she learned to love him nonetheless because he was so kind to her, and that broke the curse,” Yasmina said. “In another, Gisa was not a cruel king, yet his son was cursed because he did not uphold a promise to Aapep.”

“In one I read, Gisa was a naga himself, but rather than being the father of Lamian he was a guardian for the kingdom, and used a spell to turn the prince into a naga when the palace was threatened.” Ali added. “But surely you two didn’t come here just to see if a fable were true, did you?”

“Well… no… you see… two of our friends found a statue and it broke, green dust turning them into nagas.” Esther explained.

“And in order for them to change back, they have to find 3 benefits. One of them already found two, we just wanted to know if anything in this legend could assist,” Tani added.

“Well, I don’t know about this story, but there is a tale that might be of assistance,” Yasmina replied, thinking. “It’s the story of Ditelas and Persellos,”

“Who and who?”

“It’s an old tale from my childhood. It went like this…

_‘Once upon a time, there was a naga named Ditelas. Like many nagai, Ditelas loved music--- he loved listening to the birds sing, the gentle trickle of the river, and the soothing rush of the wind. However, his love for music was also dangerous, for many would use it as a way to distract him to attack, or lure him into a trap. One day he plugged his ears with cotton, relying on his other senses to remain alert; although it kept him safe, he felt miserable for being unable to hear any melodies. Sick of keeping deaf after so long, he ran away into the swamps, where it was quiet and where few would trek._

_‘Now in the swamps lived a young boy named Persellos, who loved to play music. Sadly, Persellos came from an unloving family who despised the music he made on his pan-flute. One day he ran away, getting lost in the swamp. He was alone and afraid, having no one around to comfort him. During a moment of sadness, he played a song to ease the pain in his heart._

_‘Ditelas, during this moment, was in the middle of his own lament when he heard music. “Oh, what a wonderful sound!” he said to himself, and followed the melody, finding the boy sitting alone playing on his pan-flute. The naga was cautious, believing it could have been another trap, but the beautiful song had him lower his guard. In fact it was so wonderful, he began to dance and ended up slithering in front of the little musician!_

_‘Persellos was stunned! He stopped playing, too afraid to move or speak. Noticing his fear, Ditelas quickly composed himself. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you--- I really loved that song you were playing. Could you play more, please?” the naga asked. Now, afraid for his life, Persellos felt he had to play in order to stay alive._

_‘He played one song after the next, the naga dancing the whole time! The boy looked around, trying to walk away while playing, but the naga followed him, entranced by the music! Soon he grew too tired to play another song, and fell on the ground in exhaustion._

_‘Ditelas looked at him in alarm. “Are you alright? Are you sick??” he asked in concern. But Persellos was not paying attention, for he feared the naga would eat him now that he stopped playing music. Feeling defeated, he began to cry._

_‘What a horrible sound! There were many noises Ditelas could not stand, from the screeching of harpies to the sounds of gunshots, but to hear a child’s sobbing was so much worse! “There there, don’t cry!” the naga coaxed, picking the boy up and resting him on his coils. “Please tell me what’s wrong. Are you hurt? Why are you so scared, so sad?”_

_‘But Persellos could not speak. He had always been afraid to speak to others because of the cruelty of his family. He shook his head, trembling as he felt he was stuck in the naga’s grip. Sensing his fear Ditelas then realized that, due to his monstrous appearance, the boy was terrified of him! “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” he promised; as if to give the boy reassurance, he gave him a gentle hug. “I know I’m scary, but I’m nice. Please don’t be scared,” When the boy continued to sob and tremble, Ditelas got an idea; stretching out his coils, he set the boy on the back of his long scaly tail. “Here, I’ll prove it to you. I’ll help you out of the swamp!”_

_‘Persellos was surprised when the naga started moving. He wanted to jump off and run, but was afraid Ditelas was much faster than he was! As they slithered along, the naga once in a while looking back to give him a reassuring smile, the boy relaxed a little. The ride was actually pretty fun!_

_‘Soon they reached the edge of the swamp. “Here you go. Try not to get lost anymore, okay?” Ditelas said to him, patting his head. “If you ever want to visit, just come here and play that flute,” He slithered back into the foliage, but did not leave just yet; he wanted to make sure the boy would be okay heading back on his own._

_‘Persellos looked behind him, walking backwards as he believed the naga might follow him. Suddenly there came yelling and he turned. Up the trail was his family, looking beyond furious! He tried to run but they were quicker, surrounding him! His mother snapped at him for running off, while his father took his flute. “Did you take off just to play this wretched thing?!” he snapped as he broke it! His parents then turned him over to beat him, while his siblings jeered and mocked him._

_‘And Ditelas didn’t like one bit of it. With a heart-stopping hiss, he shot out of the foliage! “Who dares disturb my peace?!” he snarled, letting his ferocity show. The parents gasped while the siblings screamed, all of them backing away. Persellos looked at him stunned--- to give him relief, the naga secretly shot him a wink before turning back to his family. “Someone kept playing music and disturbed my sleep! Who was it?!”_

_‘In a panic, the mother spoke up. “It was that boy! He plays music day and night and drives us all crazy!” she shouted, pointing at Persellos. “Yes! He’s so noisy!” the brother added. “Yes, he’s to blame!” the sister jeered. The father backed away, arm out to shield the rest of his family. “Please, spare us!” he begged._

_‘Ditelas pretended to ponder. “…Fine. I will spare your lives, but leave me this boy. And if ANY of you come near this swamp again, the only music you’ll hear is the hymns of angels!” he warned. To his disgust, the family quickly agreed and ran away, not even trying to plea for the boy’s life._

_‘Persellos sat on the ground, and the naga could sense his fear and heartbreak. Picking him up, he carried him back into the swamp, climbing up a tree for the swamp was growing dark and he did not to risk them encountering any predators. Making sure he was secure on his coils, Ditelas lowered himself down and grabbed some bamboo shoots and vines, working to make him a new pan-flute. “H-Here… it might not work like your other one, but…” he tried to say, but the child’s heartbreak had him at a loss for words._

_‘The boy held the makeshift flute. It was raw, and would need some tinkering to make music, but he did not expect the naga to try to make him a new one. Was he just keeping him around for music? If he could not play, would he be abandoned or eaten? The boy let out a whimper, burying his face in his knees. He felt a hand pat his head, and peeked up at the naga. “It will be okay. I’ll take care of you.” Ditelas promised._

_‘Staring into his eyes, Persellos felt he could believe him… but looked away, fearing the naga was trying to hypnotize him. Ditelas could sense his fright, adjusted his coils, having them loop above a branch in a way so that Persellos could lie down on them like a hammock, using the end of his tail to hold him in place. He then began to rock him, using hushed tones and humming a tune to help him relax. Eventually, the boy allowed himself to be lulled to sleep._

_‘When he awoke the next day, he found himself in a makeshift nest up in the tree. Smelling something, he looked down and saw Ditelas cooking fish over a small fire. “Oh, good! You’re up! Do you like fish?” he asked, inviting the boy down for breakfast. Persellos went down, his stomach feeling empty, and he ate in silence._

_‘The naga himself dove into the water and hunted fish raw, keeping out of sight so not to scare the boy. After breakfast, the boy worked on his new flute, making adjustments and testing it, while the naga sat by and kept guard. When night fell, they would sleep up in the tree. Days went on like this, with Persellos staying quiet, and Ditelas tending to his needs._

_‘One day, while the naga was in the pond hunting fish, the flute was complete. Persellos tested it, finding it could finally make music. However, since Ditelas was underwater he did not hear the music, but a predator did. Out of the clearing came a massive crocogator! Terrified, Persellos turned to run but fell in the water! The crocogator chased after him; the boy tried to swim away, but failed to notice crocogators moved faster in water…_

_‘Though, nagas moved fastest. Ditelas sensed a disturbance in the water and turned just in time to see the crocogator swimming towards Persellos! He shot forth and wrapped his tail around the creature’s neck and snout, keeping its jaws sealed shut as he wrestled it! Persellos quickly got back on shore, looking back and watching the struggle! Soon both went under the waves, the waters calm…_

_‘Suddenly something surfaced. Ditelas! The naga managed to win the fight! Overcome with relief, Persellos ran forth and hugged him. “It’s alright, I’ve fought worse. But are you okay?” he asked. The boy took a breath… and in a long while, managed to find his voice. “I’m… okay,” he managed to speak, and looked up at him with a smile. “Thank you… for protecting me.”_

_‘The naga beamed, picking up the child and hugging him tight, spinning him around. Persellos let out a laugh--- a laugh! He had not laughed in so long, he didn’t think he’d know how! Ditelas’ heart was filled with joy--- the child’s laughter was more beautiful than any music he had ever heard._

_‘Their bond remained strong from that day on. Eventually Ditelas moved them out of the swamp and closer to a decent town, mainly so Persellos could have a decent meal and real bed to sleep. At first the townspeople were afraid, but seeing how the naga danced as he followed the music of the boy’s flute, they relaxed. Some even gave them money to watch such a spectacle--- a boy and his dancing naga!_

_‘With a new home and a new life, both of them found something they always needed: Ditelas found a way to be seen as more than a naga, and Persellos found a loving family who adored his music.’”_

“That’s so sweet!” Esther exclaimed when Yasmina finished.

“I hope it gives your friends an idea to help with their condition,” Ali stated. “At least a tale that tells not all nagai are ruthless predators,”

“It gave me an idea we could try out,” Tani said with a smirk. “Thanks, Yasmina, Ali! We’ll let you know how it works out!” With that, she took off!

“Tani! …*sigh* Thank you both,” Esther said politely to the couple.

“Any time. Go ahead and check on your friends, and stop by any time!” Yasmina replied with a smile.

Esther ran out to catch up with Tani. “That story was great! I can’t wait to tell Khunbish--- that idea sounds awesome!” the sky pirate was saying in excitement.

“You mean the music, right? I don’t know how it will help, but maybe playing my harp could at least calm them down whenever they feel aggravated.” Esther figured.

“Music? Heck no! I was talking about riding on their backs! I’m going to see if he’ll let me try it!” with that, she shot ahead!

Esther did a double-take. “What the---? Tani!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I didn't make up the word Crocogator... I got it from Puggsy.


	17. Trapped!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER WARNING: For those of you who haven't finished Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch or Persona 3, there are mentions of spoilers. ...Don't blame me, Junpei's the one who brings them up!

_He was surrounded by desert. Nothing but hot sands and scorching winds to greet him as he slithered through the terrain. He looked at the skies, the intense heat-wave making the skies ripple, the red-orange colors of the late afternoon atmosphere looking like the land was surrounded by dancing flames._

_Yet despite the heat, he felt frigid--- and he even had his jacket on!_

_He looked around, wondering how he ended up here. Was his body so cold that they had to bring him back to the desert to warm up? If that were the case, where was everybody? They wouldn’t just leave him in the wilderness alone--- sure, they tended to have some bad calls, but they weren’t so reckless that they’d abandon a friend!_

_“Hey! Is anyone out here?!” he hollered, but received no reply. Not even a wild creature came charging at him._

_Something caught his attention just then. His heightened senses caught the scent of… meat?_

_He tried to pinpoint what type of meat it was. It didn’t smell like ham, beef, poultry or fish… whatever it was, it must have been undercooked, because as he got closer he could tell it was raw. So raw, he surmised, that he could strongly detect the scent of---_

_He froze._

_Blood._

_He was smelling blood!_

_Shooting over the hill, he found the source of the stench, and stood there horrified beyond all reason._

_Bodies. Dozens of them. Hundreds, even! All over the desert, scattered as far as the coast. They were all bloodied and dismembered, as if ravaged by a monster._

_The sight and stench alone got to him and he covered his mouth… freezing when he felt a sticky substance on his hands, finding them stained red. ‘No… don’t tell me…!’ he began to panic. Had he killed all these people?!_

_The sand shifted beneath him and he ended up sliding downhill, his long snake of a body dragging him closer to the corpses! He fell on his back, trying desperately to climb upward, until his eyes fell on a certain body…_

_Marcassin._

_His brother lay there, his body looking as if it had been crushed, his eyes open wide, fear being his final expression. “No!” Swaine yelled; looking around, he saw everyone’s bodies--- Oliver’s, Esther’s, Ryuji’s, Junpei’s… from all his friends to friends of friends. “No, no no no… this can’t be happening…! This is a nightmare! It’s got to be a nightmare!”_

_He clutched his head, twisting and turning. “Wake up… wake up, dammit! I don’t want to see this…!” he fell onto the sands, sobbing. “Please… no more…”_

_But he wasn’t waking up. He couldn’t wake up… why? Was Freddy Krueger pulling a sick trick on him or something?!_

_He looked back over at Marcassin’s body. Wrought with trauma, he wrapped his arms around his brother’s frame, hugging him tightly. Despite being a corpse, the body felt warm… perhaps because of the heat? Remembering his own frigid temperature, he held him tight, shutting his eyes._

_This was just a bad dream… he would wake up… he would wake up…_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_~During the start of the nightmare~_

WG opened her eyes groggily, finding it was late in the morning. Looking over at Swaine, deep asleep still, she carefully stood up and climbed over his coils, heading into the bathroom.

After a minute, she walked back out refreshed, just in time to hear a knock at the door. Opening it… she was surprised to see Junpei drenched and… smelling like warm milk. “Can you open a portal back to my place?” Junpei asked in a deadpanned tone. “I need to grab some clothes and change.”

“Uhhh…?” WG responded, curious yet at the same time not wanting to know. She opened a portal to the Persona 3 Dorm for the teen and he hurried through, telling her to keep it open. She looked back at Kanji. “Explain?”

“Stupei was running his mouth, so I dunked him in the milk fountains.” The rebel replied, sitting down on one of the cushions at the table. He looked over at Swaine. “He’s still asleep, huh?”

“Yeah. Better let him sleep, just to make sure he doesn’t get sick,”

A few minutes later, Junpei came back through, having changed into his summer clothes. “You owe me a new outfit, Tatsumi.” He muttered. “Senpai was pissed about learning my uniform got stained!”

“Well if you weren’t calling me a pervert---!” Kanji retorted.

“I was just making a joke!”

“It was sick!”

“Hey, you were the one petting the snake-tail!”

“I was trying to help him relax!”

“Oh, is that the truth or an alibi?”

“Listen, ya stupid pri---!”

“Yo! Elric and Mustang! Have your lover’s quarrel later!” WG piped up, snapping her fingers. “Keep in mind, we’ve got a tired naga in the room. Whatever issues you have, either resolve them OUTSIDE, or drop it!”

“Er… right,” Junpei responded, clearing his throat.

“S-Sorry,” Kanji murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.

WG reached up, patting them both on the heads. “Good boys. …So, what’s going on with Khunbish?”

“Well, we brought him some food, and Tani stopped by--- she’s going to talk him into going out in public. She wants Swaine to come too, but we told her to let him rest first.”

“Oh… I think he’s up!” Junpei whispered, walking over to the bed after seeing Swaine shift. He sat down next to him, noticing the thief had an intense case of REM, and tears were running down his face! “Oh shit… Swaine? You okay?” He shook his shoulder, but no response. He turned to the others. “He’s not waking up!”

“SWAINE! YO! GET UP!” Kanji hollered, but their friend continued to endure a nightmare of sorts. He turned to WG. “W-What do we do?!”

“Hold on, I’m looking!” WG sputtered, flipping through the pages of one of the naga books. “N-Normally Swaine is a light sleeper, so it must be---“

“GAHHH!” Junpei screamed, and they turned… finding the teen had been pulled into the thief’s arms, the tail getting tangled in his legs. He waved his free arm, frantically. “WG! KANJI! HEEELP!”

“J-Junpei-san!” Kanji yelped, running over and grabbing his hand, trying to pull him free, but Swaine’s grip proved stronger.

“Hold it! Calm down, calm down!” WG exclaimed, hurrying over as she found a page. “Shh, just everyone settle down, don’t panic. It says here that, when exposed to cold elements, a naga will go to sleep and become dormant…

“‘ _When living in winterized environments, a naga will remain asleep until the cold season passes. For others who were just passing through a cold climate into warm, they will sleep until their bodies return to a normal temperature, or until their next feeding period. Nagai need up to 10 hours of sleep, often during the day for nocturnal breeds. If not properly rested, they tend to be sluggish and aggressive. *Note: Do not worry about being crushed by a naga in their sleep, as during this period their muscles are slack; this is a basic instinct to prevent them from crushing loved ones nestled with them_.’”

“So… he’s going to stay asleep until when?” Kanji questioned, scratching his head.

WG looked at her watch. “I’d give it another eight hours. He did sleep at my place last night, so that must have upset his metabolism.”

“That’s good to know… NOW CAN YOU HELP ME OUT?!” Junpei cried, Swaine still hugging him tight.

“Don’t worry, it said he won’t crush you in his sleep; plus, it might boost his body-heat so he’ll wake up sooner.” WG said, with a somewhat nonchalant tone. “…He must be having a nightmare, from the looks of it.”

“I’m LIVING a nightmare, here!” He waved his arm, flailing around in a chibi-manner. “Pleeeeaaase get me out!”

“His grip is pretty strong, man. If we tried, we might end up making his muscles tighten and you’d get strangled for sure,” Kanji added.

“’Death by Strangulation’ is a better headline than ‘Trapped by Snake Cuddles’!”

“Oh calm down, Junpei. Give it time and he may release you on his own,” WG stated.

“I don’t have time! W-We have school tomorrow!”

“Alright, alright… I’ll go see if we can use some butter to grease you out or something.” With that, WG walked out.

Junpei groaned, rubbing his face. He paused just then, looking over. “…TELL me you’re not recording this!”

Kanji smirked, his iphone getting the whole situation on video. “Yep.”

“Turn it off--- or I’ll tell everyone how you pet Khunbish!”

“Dude, you’re the one snuggling with Swaine. Do you really think they’d care?”

“KANJI! TURN IT OFF!” Junpei grabbed a pillow and chucked it at him, but missed. The rebel only chuckled. “I’M SERIOUS! I swear to God if you don’t turn it off, I’m going to break your sewing kit! I’ll rip up all your plush toys! I’ll email your Shadow’s picture to inmates in prison! Do you hear me?! PRISON! I’ll---” he paused, as Swaine squeezed him again, holding the teen’s head against his chest. “---would you stop that?! …KANJI!”

Kanji only sat back, enjoying every minute of his friend’s awkward situation.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

WG was walking towards the stairs when a pair of arms suddenly caught her, and she found herself being hugged and spun around. “WG! Thank goodness you’re back!” Khunbish exclaimed, using his tail to lift her up as he hugged her.

“Oh! Um, hey Khunbish. How are you doing?” WG asked, smiling a bit as her ‘pirate-beau’ nuzzled against her cheek.

“Much better, now that you’re here…”

“A-HEM.” Scoffed a voice. Looking over, they saw Ryuji standing there, arms crossed and looking annoyed.

Khunbish smirked, as if knowing a crude secret. WG looked over at the teen. “Ryuji? …When did you get here?” she questioned. She then looked at the archer. “…and why are you being so affectionate?”

“Put her down, Bishie.” Ryuji sneered.

Khunbish only hugged her tighter. “What’s the matter, Ryuji? …No! Don’t tell me--- you’re jealous!”

The track star took out his cell-phone. “I’m calling her boyfriend!”

“Alright, alright, what’s going on here?” WG asked, wiggling out of the pirate’s arms.

“Heh heh, it’s okay, Wherever Girl. I’s was just trying out my new benefit… although seeing you after an insane morning is truly a blessing.”

“New benefit?” WG asked.

“Yeah. Last night, I found out I can sense someone’s emotions. See?” Khunbish showed her his card. “I’s can sense when my enemies are afraid, or if one of my mates is feelin’ blue I’ll be the first to know.”

“So you can sense what others are feeling…?” WG looked back at the room. Did the same go for Swaine? If so…

The pirate’s grin fell. “Oi, ye okay?”

“Huh?”

“I just got th’ notion you’re… I can’t tell, unsure about something?”

“Oh, no um… I was just wondering if Swaine could do the same…” She shook her head. “However, I think it would be better if you didn’t try to guess anyone’s emotions--- or mess with someone else’s. Chances are, abusing your prowess might extend the curse or something.”

“O-Oh… Okay, WG.”

“Hey, Wherever-chan… you sure you’re okay?” Ryuji asked, walking over.

“I’m alright… but what about you? I figured you’d be sleeping in back in your world or something.”

“I dropped by last night to see how everyone was doing, and I ended up crashing overnight. Don’t worry, I let my mom know---“ Ryuji then froze. “Oh, shit, my mom! W-What time is it?”

WG looked at her watch. “Almost 10 AM…”

“Can you open a portal back to my place?”

“Sure, but why don’t you just call?”

“I don’t want to run up the phone bill from another dimension.”

“…Good point.” WG opened a portal.

“Wait! Your bag!” Khunbish called.

“I’ll pick it up later. See ya around!” With that, Ryuji jumped through the portal, heading to his house.

Closing the portal, WG looked at Khunbish; the pirate had a funny look in his eye--- normally he would boast about ‘having more time with their fangirl’, or make a ‘take your time/don’t come back’ type of quip… but there didn’t seem to be any humor in his gaze.

Before she could ask, there was a flash of blue, and Oliver appeared! “WG! Khunbish--- WHOA!” the young wizard exclaimed, gawking at the snake-bodied pirate. “Jeepers… so that’s what you look like,”

“Oliver! ‘bout time ye showed up, lad!” Khunbish exclaimed, tussling his hair.

“Esther told me everything yesterday--- I wanted to stop by, but Miss Leila needed some help at the Milk Bar. It’s really busy during the winter, and she needed help in delivering groceries.” He looked at WG. “Where’s Swaine? Esther said you opened a portal for him yesterday,”

“He spent the night at my place last night, but we came back here early this morning. It was pretty cold in my place, so he has to sleep for a while until his body returns to a normal temperature. …Oh! I need to tell Marcassin he’s back---!” the authoress stated, realization dawning on her. “I need to talk to Esther too…”

“I told Esther already, WG. And ye can inform Marcassin once Swaine’s back up, that way they’s can chat. In the meantime, Mistress Tani’s around ‘n’ wants me to head out to get a little public interaction.” Khunbish reminded.

“Okay. I’ll go grab something for Swaine real quick; I need to open a portal for Junpei and Kanji too--- unless you’d like us all to tag along with you,”

Khunbish seemed to perk up a bit, but paused in thought. “Actually… would ye mind doing a favor for me?”

“What is it?”

The pirate-naga slithered back to his room, coming out a few seconds later with a duffel bag; he gave Oliver the ‘wait a minute’ gesture, moving the authoress out of earshot. “Take this back to Ryuji when ye take ‘em to their world. And… see if everything’s okay with the lad.” He requested in a quiet tone.

WG blinked. “Wait… you want me to check up on Ryuji? Normally you two are trying to keep me away from one another. Did something happen?”

“I don’t know, but last night he just didn’t want to be alone, an’ I was sensing a lot of tension--- didn’t press for answers an’ have him take off upset, though… Ye know more about him than I do, Wherever Lass. An’ I’s feel he’d be able to open up to ya a helluva lot more than me. If anything be bothering him--- well, even if it ain’t my business, I want to make sure he’s alright.”

WG cocked her head. “…since when do you care so much about him?”

Khunbish crossed his arms, sighing. “I dunno… just… last night something was really irking him, an’ for some reason I found myself feeling...”

“Concerned?”

“…Aye. That’s the best way to put it,” He looked at her. “But, I don’t want to be upfront ‘bout it. That boy be stubborn--- I has doubts he’d be flattered to find the pirate he fights over fangirls with is suddenly worried ‘bout his well-being.”

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Oh, hi Oliver--- Hey! WG!” came a call, and they turned to see Tani and Esther coming up the stairs, the young sky pirate being the one who hollered.

“Hey, girls. Come to check on the guys?”

“Yes… Is Swaine back? I want to talk to him,” Esther asked.

“Yeah, but he’s sleeping right now. Wasn’t feelin’ well due to cold exposure or something,” Khunbish answered.

“…Uh, you sure he’s still asleep?” Oliver questioned, listening by Swaine’s door.

“Why? What do you hear?” Esther asked.

Tani stuck her ear to the door, arching an eyebrow. “I might be mistaken… but it sounds like Tamaki Suoh cussing someone out, and Yusuke Kitagawa laughing?” she guessed.

“That reminds me…” WG turned to Oliver. “You think we can go to the Milk Fountains and make, say… 5, 10, or 20 pounds of butter?”

“(hold on, I’ll see what’s taking so long--- ah! Hey! Throw one more pillow, and you’re going back in the fountains!)” came Kanji’s voice as he stepped out, greeted by perplexed looks. “Oh! …Hi everyone. Um, Swaine’s asleep.”

“You were taking a video, weren’t you?” WG guessed.

The rebel smirked. “Yep.”

“Send me a copy later,”

Everyone exchanged looks. “Do we want to know?” Esther sighed.

“Yes, yes you do. Lets hurry!”With that, she headed downstairs, the others following.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_‘…and then I’m going to shove… clear up your… if you don’t stop recording… I’m fucking serious…!’_

_Swaine looked around, finding himself surrounded by clouds as he was climbing uphill. In his arms he was carrying someone… every few seconds it would change. It went from Marcassin, to Oliver, to Esther, at one point he was even carrying Khunbish!_

_But what confused him was why he was hearing Eld Gin chewing out a laughing Levi Ackerman._

_‘I wish I could wake up… these kafka dreams are getting weird…’ he thought. His body still felt cold… and he felt himself struggling to hold whoever was in his arms. The clouds were thick, and he couldn’t tell whether something was trying to pry them out of his arms, or if they were struggling to get away from him._

_He winced, fearing it was the latter._

_The scene shifted, the clouds gone as he was now moving through a castle of sorts, the voices quieted. It had vines running down the walls, and out the window he saw miles of ocean. He found himself slithering out onto a balcony where the railing had collapsed, looking out at the horizon. He looked at the person in his arms; now it was Junpei, for some reason._

_However unlike the first nightmare, he was breathing, though it felt shallow as if he were struggling. He was covered in dark marks, as if he had been strangled to near death. Swaine cringed, remembering the first day when he had nearly cut off the teen’s air supply without realization. Thinking about it, he hadn’t been in control of his body that day… it took him two days to get the hang of his anatomy…_

_Maybe this nightmare showed what could have--- or might--- happen if he lost all control…_

_“I’m sorry…” he whispered, tears running down his face._

_Suddenly the balcony began to crumble, and he found himself falling into the sea; his only instinct was to hold tight to the person in his arms, the last thing he saw was a mess of blonde hair before sinking into the waves._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Junpei sighed. Once Kanji was out of the room, he tried in vain to pry himself out of Swaine’s grip, but the gunslinger-naga held on like a child with a safety blanket. The room was quiet, the only sound coming from a ticking clock on the wall; it was a little after 10 AM.

He drummed his fingers on the side of the thief’s stomach. “Tickle, tickle.” The class clown murmured, poking him, but his grip didn’t loosen even a smidge.

“I’m sorry…” Swaine whispered all of a sudden.

“Huh? Dude, are you awake?” Junpei asked, looking up at him; the elder prince remained deep in a slumber but once again tears were running down his face. The teen bit his lip, looking back over at the door. What was taking WG so long?

He gasped as the thief rolled onto his other side, the teen smothered against him, having to turn his face to get air. _What the hell is he dreaming about?!_ He thought, and based on a worst-case scenario, prayed that the naga didn’t have ‘provocative’ dreams.

Swaine’s arms tightened around him, and his breathing was feeling rushed. The teen began to slightly panic; what if he couldn’t wake up, and ended up having a heart-attack in his sleep? As WG had said, Swaine was a light sleeper, and if he had a bad dream he would have woken up by now.

_Can nagas even wake up from a nightmare? That book said they’d be dormant until their bodies were warm again or something,_ Junpei pondered. Thinking about it, he felt Swaine’s arm, finding it a bit cool to his touch. Tears were still running down his face.

“It’s okay, Swaine,” Junpei told him, rubbing the thief’s arm with his free hand. He had doubts if his voice could break through into his dream, but he had to do something to comfort his subconscious. “Shh… it’s alright. You’re okay, bud. You’re okay…”

His breathing steadied, but tears were still running down his voice and his grip remained tight.

Junpei continued to rub his arm, before reaching up and wiping tears off his face, shushing him in a gentle manner. He thought about how Kanji was petting Khunbish earlier and tried that, gently patting the scaly tail wrapped around his flank. “Everything’s gonna be okay, Swaine… You’re just having a bad dream. Try to have a good dream while you’re asleep. Like… try dreaming about Hamelin, or flying on Tengri--- that was pretty cool, flying a dragon around when I got the game.

“I remember how I got it… WG and I had made a bet, and the loser had to let the winner borrow either a videogame. I won, and she let me take it home for a while--- she didn’t mind, because she said she finished it already.” He rubbed his arm again, letting his head rest gently on his chest. “I… kinda cried at some parts--- basically the part where Oliver found out his mom couldn’t come back, and that scene where he almost died. It kinda made me think of the storyline of my game…

“It’s kinda weird. Both our games have something in common--- learning to deal with tragedy and death. Well, mine kinda beat people over the head with it, but yours was subtle, like how Oliver and Shadar being connected was pretty much an analogy on how our own despair is our greatest enemy, and how it can lead to breaking someone else’s heart when we just let it continue on. …At least in your game, Oliver came back. I had to wait for spin-offs and remakes to see Minato-san and Minako-san again.”

He looked up at the thief a moment; his tears had stopped, and his breathing was soft now. Still, he felt he should keep talking should another nightmare occur.

“I wonder if it’s the same case here. …You really hate snakes, so being half of one really bothers you, even if it gives you cool benefits. Khunbish said he can read emotions… but you’ve always been good at reading people, I guess. When I first played the game… I dunno, you just seemed like the cool, laid-back, cynical type of guy who managed to have a plan figured out. Yeah, you had your share of screw-ups based on your backstory, but after meeting everyone you decided to turn over a new leaf--- you didn’t change completely, but you still managed to get better. Heh, I think Kanji could relate to you on that…

“Me on the other hand… I didn’t really start taking life seriously until after I started losing people--- backstory wise, I mean. I always rolled with the punches, mainly because no one was around to offer me any real guidance. My dad always drinks, and my mom’s not around, so I had trouble succeeding. You have no idea how many times I wanted to just give up, drop out, and run away… the only thing that kept me going were the people around me. I’d hide behind jokes and smiles, but it wasn’t until I had to drop the act that I realized how much they really cared. They were with me through hard times, and that’s what prevented me from giving up…

“And the same goes for you. You’re not one to give up--- hell, even when you were out on the streets and broken-hearted, you still had the drive to try to fix things. So… don’t let this curse get to you. Sure, you have to face your fear of snakes on a personal level… but, at some point, we all have to face something. I know I have to go back to my alcoholic dad at some point. Minako still has my keys. It feels easier when someone is with you… and dude, you’ve got a lot of people to help you through this. Whatever nightmares are going on in your head at night can stop. Start having good dreams,”

He paused, hearing a sound. Swaine was snoring! His arms had fallen limp too, as somewhere during the conversation the thief’s hold finally relaxed.

Slowly and carefully, Junpei sat up and pulled away, watching as the gunslinger curled up. Grabbing a blanket, the teen covered him up, patting him on the back. “Sleep tight, Swaine.” He said, before walking out the door.

He walked outside… pausing, seeing Kanji and WG carrying the biggest stick of butter he had ever seen! Oliver and Esther were with them, helping guide them towards the inn.

“Whoa! When you said you were going to get butter, I didn’t think you’d go this far!” The class-clown exclaimed.

“Junpei?! How’d you get out?” WG exclaimed, dropping her side of the giant butter stick.

“Whoa!” Kanji cried, ending up slipping and dropping it with a *Splat!* “Dammit! Oliver spent 15 minutes trying to make that!”

“Are you okay? Kanji said you were trapped in Swaine’s coils! He said he has it on video,” Esther asked Junpei.

The teen paused. “Oh, yeah. About that---“ without another word, he dashed after Kanji; the rebel took off, both of them running down the street.

WG sighed. “I’ll go get them. You two check on Swaine. Tell him I’ll come back later,” she informed the two kids, before racing off after the teens.

Oliver and Esther shrugged and entered the inn. “Well, that was a waste of a good spell,” the bard sighed.

“It’s okay. Swaine needed his sleep anyway, they said. …You said he looked really freaked out when you saw him,” Oliver replied, his expression concerned. “You think he’ll want to come out like Tani wants?”

“I can’t say… Khunbish was more lenient. Maybe we can talk him into coming out to the oasis with them--- if he’s awake.”

Going upstairs and entering the room, it was no surprise the thief was still asleep. The two kids were patient, however, deciding to wait for him to break out of his slumber as they didn’t want him to wake up and find himself alone. Oliver tried to see if his Wizard’s Companion had gained any new pages about nagai, while Esther took an idea from the story of Ditelas and Persellos and played her harp, if only to aid the thief’s dreams.

After a short while, their friend began to stir…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_He was floating._

_Someone was talking to him, but their voice sounded distant._

_He hung onto the person in his arms… and for once, they were holding him back. They were the one talking to him! Their voice was familiar… although, the tone felt different._

_His dream drifted from an ocean to stars, and he felt serene, the voice soothing, and his body was feeling warm again. Suddenly his arms felt empty, and he looked around desperately for the one he had been holding on to._

_Then he heard music. Beautiful, sweet music… a harp playing…_

_He knew only one person who played such an instrument._

_Suddenly he found himself surrounded by white, and he had to shield his eyes…_

_…_

Swaine groaned, waking up. Looking over, he saw Oliver flipping through his book, while Esther was playing her harp. The two kids noticed he was awake, looking at him.

Giving a groggy but sincere smile, the thief sat up. “Hey, about time you two dropped by,” he quipped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I had too much fun referencing Junpei and Kanji's voice actors (Vic Mignona and Troy Baker/Matthew Mercer). I had an idea where Junpei would try singing to Swaine to help him relax, but felt it was too silly *I will try to save it for later lol*; plus, I felt the comparison of their two games made for a nice Segway into the teen talking about the thief's lamentation. 
> 
> So, we've got Swaine having kafka dreams, Khunbish feeling concerned for Ryuji, I'm playing 'transport' for my bois, and Oliver is finally in the story! ...Things have gotten a little more interesting, ne?


	18. A Different Perspective

There were a plethora of words the wizard and bard threw at the thief the moment he was awake. The main points included Oliver wanted to know the details from his friend’s perspective, while Esther rebuked him for not sending word to them sooner. Once he assured Oliver the others were taking care of him, and apologized to Esther for letting his self-consciousness get the better of him, Swaine allowed the two to embrace him in a hug.

“So, how are you feeling? You were asleep for a long time--- it’s almost 1 o’clock!” Oliver asked.

“Yes, the latest you’ve ever slept in was noon,” Esther quipped.

“Very funny. But I’m feeling fine, being exposed to the cold took a lot out of me, I guess.” Swaine answered, while rubbing his head. “…and I had enough kafka dreams to last me a lifetime.” He looked around the room, noticing the absence of a certain someone. “Where’s WG?”

“I think she went to take Junpei and Kanji home, and drop off something for Ryuji.” The wizard answered, thinking back. “Khunbish wanted her to take his duffel bag back to him,”

“Seriously?” The thief arched an eyebrow, scratching his head. “Normally those two make sure she steers clear of each other… Ah, well, it’s none of my business.”

“Tani stopped by today, too. She decided it’s time you two stop hiding out and go out in public again. She took Khunbish to the oasis while we were at the milk fountains.”

“I think she’s right. The curse may not be broken if you keep yourself shut in,” Esther added.

Swaine sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fine… but that blasted fairy isn’t to learn about this, got it?!” he firmly stated; he then looked at Oliver. “…Speaking of which, where is Drippy? He’s normally at your side 24/7!”

“He’s at the Fairy Grounds,” Oliver replied. “He says it’s the best place to be during winter time,”

“Oh yeah--- because of the climate, it doesn’t get too hot there like the desert, but isn’t too cool so you can relax.” Esther surmised. She turned to the thief. “How do you think you’d fare on the island?”

“I’d drown myself after the jokes started flying,” Swaine muttered.

“Okay, Swaine, that’s enough. You have to give Mister Drippy more credit than that!” Oliver reprimanded. “Tani said that’s the reason you didn’t tell anyone else--- you thought everyone would make fun of you! But we won’t… and that includes Drippy. He might make a comment or two--- but if anything, he’d be coaching you to break the curse! If he were here now, he would be telling you to stop wallowing in self-pity and get out there,”

“Yeah. The jokes would come later--- after the curse was broken,” Esther said, having to grin. “Hee hee, he would probably exaggerate how scared you were!”

Swaine rubbed his face, but sighed. “If fairies weren’t incorrigible liars, I’d make him promise not to tell the story at all… But you have a point. Sooner or later I’ll have to face the people sometime,” he agreed.

The familiar-tamer patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, we’ll be with you. If anyone makes any comments, they’ll have US to deal with,”

There came rapid knocking at the door at that moment; Oliver opened it, and in rushed Marcassin. “Gascon! Oh, good, you’re back here. When I got word that you moved somewhere else, I called WG to get the details. Thank goodness you’ve come back--- being exposed to temperatures that cold could have killed you!” the young sage stated, sounding out of breath as if he had ran clear from Hamelin.

“Killed him? …How cold was it?” Oliver questioned Swaine.

“Well… apparently WG has a broken heater, so it was practically 0-degrees at her place,” Swaine answered.

“Those conditions are hazardous for reptiles, Gascon.” Marcassin scolded; seeing a book, he picked it up and flipped through the pages. “See? ‘Long-term exposure to freezing temperatures may result in severe illness, poor blood circulation, comatose state, and even death’. How long were you there?”

“Overnight, then she brought me back to the desert to warm up. We went back for 20 minutes after Kanji stomped on my tail…”

“Then he came back here and ended up sleeping for a few more hours. It turns out nagai become dormant until their bodies return to a normal temperature.” Oliver added.

Marcassin sighed, rubbing his temples. “From now on, please remain in warm climates. Next time you may not recover. …Why did you leave, anyway?”

“I… I was walking--- well, slithering in my sleep.” Swaine murmured, and informed the trio of his nightmare, as well as the incident where he tried to hunt down a quiverine pup. “I keep having bad dreams, and worry about losing control over these wild instincts.”

“Psychologically speaking, but I believe your fears manifest in your subconscious; as for your sudden instinct to hunt, your negative feelings mixed with an intense hunger caused you to go into a mild frenzy. However, considering you woke up and held back, I do not deem you as a savage naga. Cases like this are even seen in humans that suffer from PTSD, depending on the situation.”

“Did Khunbish have any similar problems?” Oliver asked.

“Not that I know of. Then again, he doesn’t hate snakes as much as I do,” Swaine answered.

“Well, if it helps, Prince Ali and Yasmina told us a story--- one where the naga isn’t a monster, but more of a guardian.” Esther spoke up. “If you’d like to hear it, maybe it will help you get a new perspective and help you relax.”

The thief scoffed, but smiled. “Alright… but didn’t you lot want me to get out of the hotel first?”

“You’re going out? …Are you certain?” Marcassin asked, surprised at his brother’s willingness to go out in public.

“Well, as everyone keeps saying, staying hidden won’t exactly help me find benefits to break the curse,” Swaine answered.

“C’mon, we can hear the story as we head to the oasis. Tani and Khunbish said they would be waiting for us there,” Oliver said, opening the door for everyone.

As they walked down the hall, Swaine showed Marcassin how he could go down the stairs easier, after Khunbish had shown him a couple tricks. Once they went out the exit, Esther began telling the story of a naga who loved music but had to live in a swamp to avoid being lured into a trap, where he met a scared little boy who loved to play a flute…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

“…but it turns out the boy’s family was a bunch of asses, and started beating on him while breaking his flute. Well, Ditelas wasn’t going to stand for it--- he zipped right in, scared the daylights out of the rotters, and decided to care for Persellos. The lad was timid at first, but after the naga saved him from a croc, didn’t see him as a beast at all.” Tani was saying, as she and Khunbish lounged in the shade by the oasis.

“That be quite a tale,” Khunbish stated, rubbing his chin. “So… what part of it did you want to try out?”

Tani chuckled a bit, and suddenly with a *pop!* shrunk down to her chibi-form! “I want to try riding on your back!”

“What?! Ye mean ye dragged me out here just for a piggyback ride?!”

“Oh, c’mon! Lets at least try it out! Please??”

Khunbish groaned, rubbing his face. “Mistress Tani, with all due respect, I don’t think I can---“

*squeak!*

Tani jumped onto the back of his tail, firmly planted on the scales. “Won’t know unless you try, mate.”

Slapping his forehead, the pirate-naga gave up. Sure, with his strength and agility he could outmatch the younger archer, maybe intimidate her to change her mind… but there were two reasons that kept him from abusing his naga prowess:

  1. Tani was like a younger sister to him; sure, she practically held the ferocity to hold authority over him, call him out when he and Chingis took matters into their own hands, and was deemed impossible to tame by most, yet that didn’t mean she held a special place in each of their hearts since the day Batu brought her home.
  2. She was the boss’s daughter and if he messed with her he would be dead where he stood, and Batu would wear his scales as a warning to anyone else who dared to harass his child.



So, without any other choice, the archer began to slither across the sands, giving Tani a ride. “Wheeeee!” she exclaimed when they went over a dune.

 _I was hoping I was done with this after she outgrew babysitting._ Khunbish thought with a sigh, circling around and heading back to the oasis. He ended up spacing out, thinking about that story.

In a way, he related to Persellos…

_“Archery?! What use would you have for such a barbaric thing?!” his father chided._

_“I… I see the soldiers walking around with them, and… I want to practice it. I could be a warrior someday---“ the child began to explain._

_“Absolutely not! Just because the whole world has fallen into war doesn’t mean we need to partake in it!” his mother huffed._

_“Those soldiers are an elite force, anyway.” One of his older sisters (the eldest of the five children) informed him. “They start training when they’re at least 12, and it takes YEARS to get into their ranks.”_

_“And that’s if you fit all the requirements,” the second sister added. “Honestly, why go through all that work for a position you probably won’t get?”_

_“Not to mention you’re too scrawny. A twig like you would have to work out for twenty years before you were buff enough to be qualified!” the third teased._

_“I’d like to date a soldier. They’re so masculine and handsome…” the fourth stated in a daydream manner._

_“Nonsense, you girls will find charming blue-bloods as your suitors. You’re much too elegant and beautiful for a common guard,” their mother stated, before turning to him. “And you are to start acting like one yourself, young man!”_

_“You want me to be a girl??” He gasped, as means of humor._

_“That’s enough, Pierre. You are to put these ideas of archery out of mind!” his father ordered._

_Sighing, the lad went upstairs to his room._

_Unbeknownst to his family, he had been secretly building his own bow and arrow._

_One day, he got to use it, show them the benefit of being an archer…_

_Yet they tore it from his hands and broke his bow._

_They broke his dream._

_They broke his heart._

“Khunbish!”

“Huh?” The pirate-naga shook his head, turning to Tani. He noticed they were back at the oasis.

“I asked if you were getting tired. You were slowing down and slouching,” Tani crawled off him, returning to her normal size. “Something up, mate? What be on your mind?”

He leaned against a tree, looking at his reflection in the water. “Quite a lot, it seems. …Tani, do ye ever think about where ye came from, before Batu took you in?”

The younger pirate crossed her arms, pacing. “Not much… At least, I don’t want to. Why?”

“Seems like my past keeps coming up in my memories. I don’t know why, but ever since this whole thing started, it just felt triggered.”

“What kind of memories are you thinking about, exactly?”

“Just… about my childhood, mainly.”

Tani cocked her head. She seldom ever heard about Khunbish’s--- or any pirate’s—life story before they joined Batu’s crew. However, judging from the look in his eye, she had a feeling the memories were anything but pleasant. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He sighed. “Both yes an’ no… I’s had things I wanted to get off my chest, but at the same time I don’t want to rant about it,”

She shrugged. “That’s fine. Like I just said, I don’t want to think about what happened before Batu found me. Whenever you want to talk, you have friends who’ll lend an ear. …In the meantime, how about we focus on breaking your curse?”

“Right, right. …Well, I can’t exactly consider giving rides a benefit--- at least not for myself,”

Tani looked at the oasis. “How about swimming? In that story, Ditelas could hold his breath for a while underwater.”

Khunbish shrugged, taking off his vest and hat, handing them to her. “That might come in handy.” Holding his breath, he dived into the water.

Tani watched him dive deep. The waters were clear, thankfully, so she could make out his shape as he swam around. During this time, the rest of their friends came around the bend. “…and the village accepted both of them, in the end.” Esther was concluding.

“Interesting,” Swaine responded. “Don’t get any ideas, though--- I’m not dancing to your harp,”

“Oi! About time you lot got here!” Tani exclaimed, waving them over. “Glad to see you alive and well, Swaine--- figured you’d be in a coma as long as you were sleeping,” She looked them over. “Hey, where’s WG and those two knuckleheads from the Persona world?”

“Last we saw them, she was chasing them down the street to take them home,” Esther replied with a shrug. “Something about a video Kanji took--- and Junpei wanted him to delete it,”

“Wait… are they the ones who were shouting inside the room??” She looked at Swaine. “Blimey, how’d you sleep through all that noise?”

Swaine dug in his ear a bit. “I think some of it got into my dreams. What were they hollering about?”

“We can ask later. Where’s Khunbish, Tani?” Esther asked.

The pirate girl pointed at the water. “About twelve feet under. Look at him go!” she exclaimed.

“Whoa! How long has he been under water?” Oliver asked.

“A few seconds before you lot got here. …How about it, Swaine? Wanna give it a try?”

Swaine looked at Marcassin. “What do you think? Is it safe for me to go swimming after sleeping off a cold?”

“I think you should wait, just in case.” Marcassin stated.

“Oh, c’mon! Khunbish said he vomited twice yesterday, and he’s still up for swimming!” Tani replied.

“That’s different. Khunbish ate too many sweets. If Swaine is exposed to too much cold, he could get really sick… maybe even die.” Oliver replied, albeit concerned.

“But, the oasis isn’t that cold! It’s in the middle of the desert, after all.” Esther replied.

“Still. We should wait until his body is completely recovered before trying anything else,” Marcassin replied. He then looked at the water. “…will he be coming up anytime soon?”

Tani scratched her head, watching him. “Honestly, I’m hoping he doesn’t forget to come up for air.”

…

Deep in the water, the pirate-naga felt like he was in a different world. At first he had to learn how swimming worked with a long scaly lower body, but once again his instincts came to his aid and he found himself gliding through the water, small fishes darting out of his way, and algae growing so thick on the rocks below it almost looked like grass.

Swimming down to the bottom, he stretched out across the sand, plumes of it clouding around him as he sifted through it. It felt nice and soft, and he found himself scooping some up into his hand. Sure, he was able to do something like this on the beach, but when you can stay underwater for a long while, you got to see things from a different perspective…

He did a double-take just then. There was a skull at the bottom!

…taking a closer look, he was relieved to find it was the skull of a fish. There was algae growing off the top of it, making it look like it had spiky hair.

Suddenly he found himself thinking about Ryuji, and something in his instincts felt triggered. Swimming upward, he shot back towards the surface, taking in a gasp of air and wiping his face off before pulling himself onto the land.

“About time! We thought you were drowning,” Tani remarked. “Seriously, that was impressive. You were down there for almost ten minutes!”

“Really? Wow… talk about lung capacity,” Khunbish replied. However, he couldn’t bring himself to feel too impressed, for some reason.

And Swaine was the first to sense it. “Hey, you okay? You don’t seem so overjoyed.”

“Is something wrong?” Oliver asked.

“I… think there is.” Khunbish answered, turning to the wizards of the group. “…I need to go to the Persona world.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After breaking up their quarrel, WG took Junpei and Kanji back to their home universe; along the way, the two boys decided to accompany her to Ryuji’s house to drop off his things. As they walked through Shibuya, most of the conversation consisted of the baseball player demanding the rebel delete the video, the rebel telling him to lighten up, and WG threatening to ship them if they didn’t cease their arguing.

All words ceased to exchange when they reached Ryuji’s house, finding the door was ajar.

“Oh, shit…” Junpei was the first to gasp, and without hesitation they ran in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...ah crap, I spilled the suspense.


	19. What Happened, Ryuji?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Chapter involves triggers for: domestic/child abuse, as well as minor attempts at sexual harassment. 
> 
> ...remind me to hug Ryuji after this.

“The Persona universe? …Why?” Tani asked, cocking her head.

“I just… I’s got a feeling that’s all.” Khunbish answered, while trying to figure out the reason himself. Just _thinking_ about Ryuji gave him the notion something was wrong. Whether it was part of his own instinct or just nagging concern, he only knew one thing… “It won’t go away until I go see Ryuji,”

Swaine scratched his head; he could sense the overwhelming apprehension radiating from his fellow-naga, but he had no clue as to why. Down in the Vault of Tears, the two had tried drowning each other over a set of keys! Now all of a sudden the pirate wanted to check in on the track star?

Nevertheless, it wasn’t his business so he chose not to prod, but there was one thing he was certain of. “You do realize that people over there are going to freak when they see you. People over there aren’t used to seeing mythical things like this unless it’s a main character’s persona.” The thief pointed out. “There’s a strong chance they might try to shoot you!”

“To hell what they’d do! My senses are going nuts, an’ I knows it has to do with that boy!” Khunbish snapped; for a moment, he was baring fangs and his eyes were glowing a sharp green color. Swaine gasped, backing away.

“WHOA! Blimey, Khunbish, look at yourself!” Tani exclaimed, jumping back.

“What?” Khunbish calmed down, and his eyes stopped glowing as his teeth returned to normal.

“Y-Your eyes were glowing… and you had fangs!” Esther replied.

“You look fine now, though.” Oliver assured. “Maybe it just happens when you’re really upset it happens,”

Swaine paused, thinking about the nightmare he had the day before--- he had fangs and glowing eyes… in fact during his first night of erratic hunger, he remembered seeing his eyes glowing a frightening yellow color in his reflection. “Well… then I guess we have no choice but to head over there.” He stated, keeping his cool.

“Huh? But you just said…” Esther began to question.

“Hey, you know better than anyone how animals get when they’re riled up. If we let his emotions stir up, he might go into a frenzy!”

Esther considered this. “That may be true…”

“Oy! I’m not a wild animal! I just have a feeling something’s up with Ryuji, is all!” Khunbish sneered in defense.

“Calm down, Khunbish. Running over there in an anxious haste is not the best option. It may cause you to lash out on anyone who crosses your path,” Marcassin stated. “Plus, it would be wise to inform your king and superiors of your travels, should anything happen.”

Khunbish sighed heavily, but gave a nod. “Alright, then. Lets get word to Evermore, then!”

“Keep your hair on, mate. I’ll get word to Evan,” Tani replied, taking out her Leafbook tablet. “Bracken installed a ‘Video Chat’ feature on these things, so we can contact each other easier.”

Dialing for Evan, they waited; within a moment, the screen changed to an image of Evan in the throne room. “Tani! Is everything alright? How is Khunbish doing?” the young king asked.

“Things are alright… I think. Khunbish’s new snake-senses are going crazy though--- he’s getting a notion that someone he knows from the Persona universe is in need of his aid.” Tani began to explain.

“Is it alright if I goes over there, yer majesty?” Khunbish cut in. “I feel like I’ll pull my hair out if I’m left wondering!”

“Another universe? And you’re still a naga? …then again, if it’s urgent, I suppose we shouldn’t ignore your instincts. But, someone should go with you.” Evan replied.

“The rest of us plan on accompanying him,” Oliver assured him. “If they see more people with him, they won’t panic as much,”

“(Hold on) …Better let me come too,” Roland cut in on the other end. “I’m a little more familiar with how people outside your world react to things like this. At least I can help explain it, in case no one has heard of our series.”

“Hmm, that is true… Very well. We shall wait for you,” Marcassin stated.

Khunbish clutched his shirt, over where his heart was. Something inside was just screaming for him to make haste to the Persona world. “Please hurry, Master Roland…”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He recognized the signs right away.

The first thing that caught Junpei’s eye were picture frames on the floor in the living room, all in a heap as if someone had just knocked them off the shelf. He studied every detail in the room--- a couch cushion was on the floor, and a couple bowls on the table were full of udon… but the food looked untouched, and the silverware was sitting at an angle as if it had been dropped.

“Ryuji! Are you home?” Kanji called as they looked around the house.

“W-Who’s there…?” came a voice.

“G-Guys!” WG yelped, pointing over to the kitchen. Standing by a counter sobbing was Ryuji’s mother--- she had short, dust-colored hair and deep brown eyes, the latter being filled with tears. “Mrs. Sakamoto! W-What happened?”

Junpei’s stomach gave a lurch; when they got a closer look, the woman had a hand-print on the side of her face. _Shit… did that fucker come back?!_ He thought with malice, though focused on helping the mother instead. “H-Here, come sit down, tell us everything.” He coaxed, helping her to her feet while Kanji pulled out a chair for her.

“Thank you….” Mrs. Sakamoto said softly, dabbing her eyes with a napkin. “My son and I were just sitting down for lunch… all of a sudden, the front door opened, and my husband…” she winced, taking a breath. “I don’t know how he found our new address, but he barged in and just knocked over pictures, shouting at us. I got up to try to make him leave, but he slapped me across the face. He would have done worse but Ryuji charged at him… They ran out the door just a few moments ago,”

“W-Why didn’t you call the police?” Kanji questioned.

“I just did… Someone should be here soon.” Mrs. Sakamoto stood up. “I want to go look for Ryuji--- I’m worried my husband will do something drastic…!”

“We’ll go find ‘em. WG, you stay here. C’mon, Junpei!” Without hesitation, Kanji ran out, Junpei right behind him.

WG rubbed the woman’s back in comfort. “It’s alright. If I know my homeboys, they’ll make sure Ryuji won’t get hurt,” she assured.

“They must be his new co-stars… he talks so much about them.” She looked up at the authoress. “Are you from the new game too?”

“Me? Naaah, I’m just a fan-friend.” She sat down across from her. “But I don’t get it. I thought your husband walked out on you guys… why would he just show up out of the blue?”

The mother sighed. “Nomi was always hardheaded… He walked out on us years before the game, you see. Well, when Ryuji was chosen to be a character, he didn’t hesitate to tell everyone about his father’s abuse—beating us, tormenting us, going as far as to break his leg… and then he left. Well, apparently Nomi didn’t like that his actions were used in the game’s story, and he came back to lash out on us for ‘using it to get sympathy’.”

WG arched an eyebrow. “Hold it… I thought Kamoshida broke his leg!”

“That was written for the game; originally Suguru was only to be written as a perverted gym teacher, but the writers felt like making him out to be abusive to make him sound more villainous. I suppose it was also used to serve as some form of therapy or symbolism--- that Ryuji would have a chance to ‘fight back’ against the one who hurt him.”

_Note to self: bring up this theory later in the forums._ WG thought, but pushed her fan-ideas aside. “And he was okay with that? Suguru, I mean.”

“Ha ha, there was a lot about his character he didn’t like--- made a vow that he wouldn’t let his own kids play the game when they were old enough. Ryuji joked that they had to pay him extra just to appear in the new game!” Her smile faded, sighing. “…Many of those kids have dealt with harsh times, and the game is some form of therapy that helps each of them cope. Not all of them, mind you… just a few. I just wish my son didn’t have to be one of them,”

WG patted her hand. “It will be alright, Mrs. Sakamoto.”

“Oh, please. Call me ‘Aya’,” she wiped her eyes, giving the authoress an assuring smile. “And what should I call you?”

“I’m WG… and the two boys who are out assisting your son are Iori Junpei and Tatsumi Kanji,”

“I see. I hope I get to meet more of his new friends someday,” She looked up, hearing the sound of a car pulling up, and saw flashing lights outside. “That must be the police,”

WG stood by as the police entered, and Aya informed them what happened; the authoress looked down the street, wondering where her trio of ‘best boys’ were at now.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Junpei and Kanji split up, going both ways in their search.

The baseball player ran by a movie theater, looking all around and down every alley. _They couldn’t have gotten far,_ he told himself; he asked several people, until finally a young man said he saw a middle-aged guy getting chased by a blonde kid--- he was about to call the police until the teen suddenly stumbled and fell, the older guy getting away on a bus; he saw it happen two blocks ahead.

Thanking the man for the tip, Junpei ran ahead; Kanji happened to be circling around, coming through an alley. “Did ya see him anywhere?” the rebel asked, out of breath.

“They were last seen on the next block, c’mon!” Junpei replied, and they ran ahead.

Finally, they caught sight of spiky-blonde hair, sitting in an alley with his face in his arms. “Ryuji! Are you okay?” Kanji was the first to ask, as the two knelt beside him.

“K-Kanji-san? Junpei-kun?” Ryuji gasped, looking up. The track star had a black eye.

Junpei bit his lip, while Kanji’s blood boiled. “What the hell did that fucker do to you?!”

“Mom and I were about to have lunch… suddenly the door just swung open and he charged in… started talking shit, saying I was telling everyone what a piece of crap he was to get sympathy…” he clenched his fists. “He demanded we give him any royalties we got, since ‘he pretty much contributed to my fame’… Mom told him to get out, a-and he smacked her across the face--- and I hit him back. He punched me and then stormed out, and I chased after him. M-My leg flared up again, so he managed to get away,”

Kanji put his arms around him, while Junpei patted his back. “It’s okay, dude,” the baseball player whispered.

“If he comes back, we’ll give him hell.” Kanji promised.

Ryuji let out a heavy sigh, pulling away from Kanji and standing up. “Thanks, guys… I better get back, mom’s probably worried sick.”

“WG is with her, don’t worry.” Junpei assured as they walked down the street.

Kanji looked around. “Hey… where’s the rest of your friends? Don’t you guys all hang out together or something?”

Ryuji tensed a bit, but feigned a smile and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, I haven’t called any of them yet. Everyone might be tired from rehearsals,” he replied.

“Oh, yeah. You guys have more lines than the rest of us, don’t you?” Junpei recalled.

“Better call ‘em up and let them know what happened. If it’s something this serious, your section may need some extra security.” Kanji added.

Ryuji slowed down his pace; he thought about Akira…

Junpei paused. “Ryuji? What is it?”

“Um, n-nothing. Just had flashbacks of that fan-girl breach we had back in October,” Ryuji quickly replied.

“Oh damn, I remember that. We STILL have fan-girls creeping into our section,” Kanji stated, crossing his arms. “…the fujoshis are the worst…”

Junpei studied Ryuji; for some reason, at the mention of his co-star companions, the track star seemed to have a weird look in his eye. He didn’t know the reason, but the baseball player had a notion that his friend didn’t feel like calling up the Phantom Thieves right away. “We’ll tell everyone at rehearsals tomorrow. Lets hurry up and get back,” he said, deciding he could ask about it once things calmed down.

_“Well, hello~”_

The trio were stopped when two men stepped in their path.

“Ohhhh shit,” Ryuji groaned, a lump in his throat.

“Look who’s back. Didn’t think we’d see YOU again,” the second man said.

“I thought the executives had you guys sent away after the animation!”

“Ah, off the anime set, not the game~” the first man said, waving his fingers. “Gotta love the loopholes,”

“Ryuji? Who are these guys?” Kanji asked, giving the men a glare. For some reason, they sent off a vibe that reminded him too much of his Shadow self.

“They’re a couple homos who tried to grope me—the execs banned them after they started getting fresh behind the scenes,” Ryuji replied.

“Hey, back off! Or we’ll call the cops on your asses for harassing a minor!” Junpei snapped.

“Tch, go ahead. We got some friends in law enforcement,” the second man scoffed. “If anything, we could have them file a report of a trio of misfits disturbing us,”

“Hey… didn’t we see YOU in a saucy videogame scene, before?” the first man asked, poking Kanji.

“Hands off!” Kanji snapped.

“C’mon, lets get out of here,” Junpei sneered, all three of them turning to cross the street.

“Gah!” Ryuji gasped, as the two men grabbed him! “Hey! Let me go!”

“What the---?! The hell is wrong with you guys!” Kanji snapped. “We just told ya we don’t want anything to do with ya!”

“WOULD SOMEONE HELP US OUT HERE?!” Junpei shouted, hoping that by causing a scene their harassers would back down. When that didn’t work, he and Kanji grabbed the two men and pulled them away from Ryuji, who quickly backed up a few feet.

However the two men were stronger than they appeared, and ended up shoving Kanji and Junpei into each other. “Such heathens! Trying to ruin our good time,” the first huffed.

“Junpei! Kanji! Run!” Ryuji hollered.

“Oh, please do… A good chase is _very_ exhilarating,” the second man replied as they turned their attention back on the track star.

Junpei and Kanji stood up, getting ready to tackle the creeps---

Suddenly there was a loud hiss… and in a blink of an eye someone burst from the alley--- a green-haired man with a long, blue-green snake body that started at his waist-down. His tail wrapped around Ryuji in a protective manner, while he bared fangs and glowered at the men with bright green eyes.

“ _Leave. The boy. Alone.”_ Khunbish snarled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give 'em hell, Khunbish!
> 
> *hugs Ryuji*


	20. Naga Protection Program

“Holy shit! What is that thing?!” The first man yelped.

“H-He can have that one--- we got two more to choose from… yipe!” The second man said, though turning around he saw another naga standing protectively by Kanji and Junpei.

“Guess again, asshole.” Swaine sneered.

“Are you going to leave these kids alone, or do our naga friends have to teach you a lesson in respecting personal space?” Roland questioned.

“U-Um--- w-we were just going!” The first man stammered, and he and his partner took off in a sprint.

“Yeah! Ya bloody ingrates BETTER run! Ya come near ‘em again, an’ I’ll choke ya blue ‘n’ break yer necks!” Khunbish shouted at them.

“What—what are you guys all doing here?” Ryuji asked.

Junpei looked around, seeing a crowd was starting to gather. “Um… we’d better discuss it back at your place.” He said. “(figures--- some creeps trying to bad-touch minors, no one bats an eye; two snake-guys show up, and suddenly everyone’s staring),”

The group hurried back to Ryuji’s house; around this time, the police had just left, Aya and WG waiting in the living room. “Swaine? Khunbish? What are you guys doing here?” the authoress asked.

“Oh my! Who--- and what--- are you friends?” Aya gasped.

“Um, Mom, these are our friends from the _Ni no Kuni_ world… two of them got cursed,” Ryuji answered, while introducing everyone. “They’re here because… wanna explain that part, guys?”

“Khunbish sensed something was off over here, and was gonna go ballistic if he didn’t double check,” Tani replied, turning to the pirate-naga. “Looks like your instincts were right, mate.”

“Really? You sensed trouble clear from your world? That’s some awesome radar you guys got!” Junpei added.

“Well… not quite. I just got a feeling something was wrong, and Ryuji was the first thing that came to mind.” Khunbish answered.

Ryuji blushed, scowling a bit. “Geez, dude, you don’t have to check up on me…” he groused.

“But it’s a good thing we did. The moment we entered your world, Khunbish took off like a shot!” Roland informed him. “Evan, Tani and I had to change into our chibi forms and ride with Swaine to keep up, while Marcassin, Oliver and Esther waited by the gateway.”

“Speaking of which, we should go tell them things are alright now,” Tani replied. She paused, noticing the mark on the side of Aya’s face, and realized WG had been at the house before they even arrived. “Um… things ARE alright, aren’t they?”

Ryuji looked at his mother, who gave him a nod. He let out a breath. “My… my dad was here. He started trashing the house, hit mom, and I chased after him. He got away on a bus, and that’s when Junpei-san and Kanji-san found me.” He informed everyone, filling them in a bit about how his dad had abused them before leaving in the past.

“Did you get a restraining order?” Roland asked Aya.

“Yes, the moment he walked out. I have already informed the police, and they will be tracking him down.” Aya replied.

“I dunno about the cops in this district… didn’t those creeps we dealt with just say they got some friends on the force?” Kanji brought up.

“They could have just been bluffing, but with the game’s concept it might be true.” Junpei figured.

“Well if he comes around again, let the rest of us know. I’m not one to take domestic abuse so lightly,” Swaine spoke up.

“We’re going to tell everyone at rehearsal tomorrow, too. That jerk won’t come within 10 feet of your block unless he wants the ass-kicking of a lifetime! …Er, pardon the language, Mrs. Sakamoto.” Junpei stated.

“It’s alright. I’m relieved to know my son has so many caring friends willing to help out,” Aya said with a smile.

“I recommend having someone keep an eye on your block, as well as your work place in case he tries to tail you. If anything, see if a coworker or friend can walk with you.” Roland suggested. “I’ve heard about a lot of abuse cases, and the perpetrator rarely leaves for good. I know you’ve informed the police, but it’s good to take an extra measure.”

“Thank you, Roland-san. My neighbor walks with me to work every morning--- her store is right across the street, so it’s practically routine for us. I’ve been fine going home on my own, but I will see if a coworker wouldn’t mind bringing me home.”

“I-I can walk with you, Mom.” Ryuji offered.

“Ryuji, I have told you before, I do not need you looking after me. You have school and rehearsals to keep up with, and I will not let you skip anything because of worry. I have managed fine before, and I’ll be fine again. Do not let that man scare you into believing differently.”

Junpei felt his heart sinking; he thought about his own domestic problems.

“You’re very brave, Aya--- but if you feel anxious about anything, call someone.” WG said, while writing on a piece of paper. “Here’s my cellphone number. If you need someone, I’m just a portal away.”

“I appreciate it, WG-san.” Aya replied with a bow.

“Do you want us to stick around?” Kanji asked.

“I believe we’ll be fine. I know you all have your own places to get back to, and you boys have a busy week ahead.”

“Still, please remain cautious. I admire your courage, Mrs. Sakamoto, but… well, even if we’re from different worlds, I do feel a concern for the safety of others.” Evan spoke up. “If someone in my kingdom was going through something like this, I would make sure they had all the protection they needed!”

“You are such a sweet young man, but I know how to manage. I am not going to let fear control my life; I let that man push me around because of fear, but after he left I started getting stronger. I may have let him slap me across the face, but it’s going to take more than violence to get me to submit to him again.” She turned to Ryuji. “And I don’t want you to worry about me, Ryuji. He will be caught, or he will leave us alone. Either way, he is out of our lives and it’s best to keep moving on.”

“We’ll keep in touch, then.” Tani said with a nod. “…Just so you know, we’ve got pirates on our force—they ain’t afraid to get too rough on jerks like that.”

“Aye, an’ I’m going to stick around and make sure he knows it!” Khunbish replied, crossing his arms.

“Khunbish?” Swaine questioned, surprised.

“Whoa! Who said you could stay over?!” Ryuji exclaimed.

“Oy, I have super senses, speed, strength, and the ability to scare the piss out of people. I’ll be able to know if that bastard shows up before anyone else—and one look at a half-snake pirate would be more than enough to make him run for the safety of jail!” Khunbish firmly stated. He turned to Evan. “If it’s alright with you, Sire, I wish to remain here and stand guard.”

“I’m pretty sure you can just invite yourself to be someone’s guard-naga.” Junpei said, rubbing his chin. “Though… that would be pretty frickin’ awesome!”

“You appear very intent on protecting us. Is there a certain reason as to why?” Aya asked.

“Yeah, you’ve been acting weird lately about stuff like this, Khunbish. Mind to fill us in?” WG added.

The archer sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just… I got the feeling something was wrong, and now that I know I was right… well, I’m gonna be up all night about it! I don’t know how to explain it, it’s like… something inside is telling me to stick around!”

Aya tapped her chin, thinking for a moment. She looked between Khunbish and Ryuji, before giving a nod. “Very well. If it is that important to you, you are welcome to stay--- but only for the night.”

“Moooom!” Ryuji groaned.

“Oh c’mon! How come he gets to spend the night and we don’t?” Kanji protested.

“(Kanji, shush!)” Junpei hissed.

“Um… are you sure, Aya? I don’t think your neighbors would react well to a naga,” WG asked.

“Hee hee, well since you all seem concerned, you may stay overnight as well.” Aya replied. She turned to Ryuji. “Is that alright with you, son? After all, you never invited many friends over.”

“Um…” Ryuji shifted.

Khunbish looked at him, a wave of emotions hitting him right in the face.

Thankfully, the boy’s answer was, “Ah what the hell? Lets have a kick-ass sleepover!”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Khunbish, Kanji, and Junpei offered to stay over; the rest didn’t want Aya to have too many guests and crowd the home, and met up with the rest of their friends at the gate. They filled them in on the situation on the way back to the Cat’s Cradle.

“That’s awful! …Well, I’m glad Ryuji and his mom are alright. But what if his dad comes back?” Esther asked.

“Then he’s going to have a roughneck rebel, high-strung baseball player, and one edgy pirate to deal with… and to top it off---“ WG replied, before brandishing her machete. “A very pissed-off fangirl.”

“Take it easy, WG.” Swaine commented, turning to the others. “I have doubts he’ll come back. Aya’s got a restraining order, and since he pretty much broke through it, he’ll have to either lay low for a while or skip town.”

“We’ll be checking in, too. The more people who know about it, the less likely he’d try to pull anything.” Roland replied, crossing his arms and looking upward. “I wanted to see if I could get a picture of him and post it online so everyone could keep an eye out, but they didn’t have any around--- said Ryuji tore them all up after he left.”

“That’s so sad… how could a father be so heartless?!” Esther snapped.

“Some people just aren’t meant to have families, I guess.” Tani said with a shrug.

“Still, we should have faith the matter will be settled without our presence.” Marcassin spoke up. “After all, we still have our own situation to take care of; we will only interfere if asked or the situation is that serious, but from what you’ve said everything should be covered.”

“I dunno, Marciplier. I know someone who’s gone through this before... some bastards won’t leave so easy--- whether they’re threatened with jail time or a machete up the arse.” WG replied, crossing her arm an shaking her head. “Things like this aren’t settled so easily in Reality--- and considering the Personaverse tends to be super close to reality-based situations… Yeah, I’m going over there tomorrow.”

Marcassin sighed. “Please stop calling me ‘Marciplier’… and I believe Aya had a point. She doesn’t want everyone getting worked up out of fear or worry. Everyone needs to be strong, and trust things will be alright.”

“…Tell that to Khunbish. He wanted to stay there and guard the kid--- and he tried drowning him back in the Vault!” Swaine added.

“That reminds me…” WG looked at Swaine. “Can you read people’s emotions, Swaine? Or sense if someone is in trouble?”

Swaine scratched his head. “A bit… but I’ve been like that for years, especially with this lot.” He replied, thumbing at his companions. “Khunbish is a weird case, though. He and Ryuji obviously aren’t that close, but he could still tell something was wrong…”

“You think they might be soul-mates?” Oliver guessed. “Maybe that’s why he could sense something was wrong so strongly,”

“Nah, the two aren’t that much alike…” WG crossed her arms. “Something happened between them last night,”

“(Quiet, WG, the fujoshis may hear you),” Swaine quipped.

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean,”

“At least it wasn’t very cold over there. Maybe their world has a different climate compared to ours, like different countries do.” Evan noted. “So we know Khunbish won’t suffer any lethargy or sickness.”

“Aye… though I wonder how he’ll fare?” Tani wondered aloud.

“We’ll check in tomorrow.” Roland assured, as they entered the Inn. “After all, it’s just for one night.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rubs palms together* I loooove writing sleepovers!


	21. Thoughts and Feelings

Kanji and Junpei had returned to their worlds in order to pack some overnight bags and inform their teams of the incident, promising to be back later that afternoon. Aya said she had to go into work at 5 o’clock and wouldn’t be back until late--- one of her coworkers had the flu, thus why she had such late shifts. Thankfully, she was carpooling with another so her son had some reassurance that she would be alright.

Half past three, after the baseball player and rebel had returned, she started cooking an early dinner for the boys--- and naga--- asking Khunbish if there were any foods he couldn’t have as he sat in the kitchen with her. “Nothing too sweet--- at least not until my curse is broken,” the pirate informed her, bringing up how eating too much sugar caused him to get sick and pass out yesterday.

“Very good,” Aya replied, working on the dish while Ryuji and the others were making space out in the living room for their sleepover. With her son out of earshot, she had a chance to privately ask the naga, “Now, care to explain the reason why you’re so protective of my son? I believe there is a better excuse than the one you gave earlier.”

Khunbish looked back at Ryuji--- at the moment he and Junpei were arranging a futon while Kanji carried over some blankets. “I honestly don’t know, ma’am. Last night he came to visit me, ya see, carryin’ a duffel bag. Something be bothering him, I can still sense, but didn’t exactly tell me everything--- just said he didn’t want to stay home alone is all.”

The mother nodded, a solemn look on her face. “Ryuji developed a bit of anxiety after his father had left. I remember he would wake up in the dead of night, patrolling the house with a baseball bat; when he did sleep, I would find him holding his pillow tight with a case of REM beneath his eyelids. Before he got a part in Persona, he would call me at work some nights, if not stay up late. One night he waited outside my work place until my shift was over with!”

“Aye, he did mention that…” The pirate thought to last night, recalling how Ryuji snuggled close to him in his sleep; it was suddenly starting to piece together--- the lad was so traumatized by his ‘so-called’ father’s abuse that he’d be willing to stay overnight in another world with his rival just so he wouldn’t be at-risk of any night-terrors. …However, he felt there was something else. “Any reason why he wouldn’t stay with one of his mates over in this world, though? He said Akira was busy, but surely not all the Phantom Thieves would have a packed schedule! …Would they?”

“I would not know. They all seem to be such close friends in the game as far as I can tell, but Ryuji has yet to bring any of them over. …Perhaps that is the arte of acting--- behind the scenes tells an entirely different story. It is the same in your game, is it not?”

Khunbish rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t quite say, ma’am. We’s all are close in my realm, ‘n’ our mates from the first game are practically family! ‘Course, ours is a different style ‘n’ setting, more open-world and not exactly limited by dates and time, so we had plenty o’ time to bond as we blazed through different quests and arcs.” He looked back at the living room--- the boys were now throwing pillows at each other. “…Question is, why didn’t he just stay with Junpei or Kanji? They all seem like best friends,”

Aya chuckled, stirring the supper. “You seem to be asking questions I can’t answer, Khunbish-san. It is Ryuji’s business who he stays with--- as long as it’s someone trustworthy, I do not interfere.” She looked over and smiled at the archer. “And you have proven quite so. Even if you do not know the reason, you care about my son. …I must ask, though, how did you two meet?”

Khunbish rubbed his chin. “It was a while back when my game had been released. We’s all were visiting Toonopolis--- a crossover district of sorts, where characters from videogames ‘n’ movies alike could mingle--- an’ WG happened to meet us ‘n’ took a fancy to me. Well, yer son happened to be hanging out with her an’ a few others, an’ got a bit jealous that his fangirl was eyeing another character. …Next thing ya know, we’re both competing to see who she liked more, picking on each other ‘n’ such while trying to get her attention.”

“How old is WG? Surely a young man like you wouldn’t be chasing after a girl no older than 12!”

“Er, she’s actually 27 ma’am--- gonna be 28 in July, she says. She was sick when she was born, she told us, so she’s always looked much younger than you’d think.”

Aya nodded, smiling. “I figured so. I would have guessed she was quite mature for her age, the way she kept me consoled. …I’m glad you have put your rivalry on hold for his sake. It’s good to know Ryuji has made such good friends.”

_“Whoa! Watch it, you almost broke the lamp!”_

_“Oof! Oh, that’s it! You’re dead, Iori!”_

_“Guys, chill out! You mess up the living room, you clean it!”_

The mother rolled her eyes, still smiling, before nodding to the doorway. “Would you mind making sure the boys don’t destroy the house? Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes,”

“Aye, ma’am.” Khunbish replied, slithering into the living room. “OI, YOU LOT! YER MOTHER SAYS TO SETTLE DOWN!”

“He started it!” the trio called in unison.

“I don’t care who started it, I’ll finish it!”

Aya chuckled, turning back to her cooking. “He certainly meets the most interesting characters,”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Dinner consisted mainly of chicken fried rice with vegetables, boiled eggs, and plum sauce; Aya put some into a container to take to work. “Don’t stay up late, understand? You boys have rehearsals tomorrow,” she stated as she grabbed her purse, standing by the door waiting for her carpool. “And no making a mess,”

“Yes, Mom.” Ryuji replied. There came a honk as the carpool pulled up, and he gave her a hug. “Stay safe, okay? If ‘he’ comes around, don’t hesitate to call!”

She patted his head. “I’ll be alright, Ryuji. Thank you,” she gave him a peck on the cheek, before heading out the door, waving to the boys before climbing into the car and driving off.

Kanji looked over at Junpei and Khunbish. The two seemed to have a sad, longing look in their eyes. “You guys okay?” he asked.

The two snapped out of it, looking at him. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Junpei answered first, looking at the door. “I was just thinking…”

“About what?” Ryuji asked, closing and locking the door as they made their way to the dining area to eat. “You never see a woman kiss her son goodbye before?”

“Um… well, my mom never did, at least.”

Kanji paused as it dawned on him. He forgot Junpei had a shitty home-life back in his world…

To break the tension, he cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, it’s not that big a deal. Plus it’s embarrassing--- Ma’s always patting my head like a puppy and kissing me on the cheek in public. It’s hard to keep up a tough image when your ol’ woman’s hugging ya in front of everyone!” he stated.

“Tch, I’d take being embarrassed over… well, you know.” Junpei muttered.

“W-What? What’s up with your mom, Jun-kun?” Ryuji asked.

Junpei shrugged; everyone but the P5 cast knew, so it would be a start to fill in his new co-star. “My dad lost all his money in a telemarketing scam years ago, and started drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He started acting like a total douche afterwards, and he and Mom kept getting into fights until she got fed up and just left.”

Ryuji cringed. “Oh damn… sorry, dude.” He nudged Kanji. “Makes us look like assholes for griping about our moms, huh?”

“Y-Yeah…” Kanji agreed. He looked at Khunbish; the pirate was quiet. “…Something on your mind, man?”

Khunbish sighed. He thought about his talk with Tani earlier that day--- wanting to open up, but at the same time keep quiet… though since he’s heard two stories about troubling parents, he felt it was a good time to share a bit of his past. “Well… my parents never drank or beat me… but let’s just say they didn’t exactly show much affection, either.” He replied.

“Really? …What happened?” Ryuji asked. “Were they the neglecting type?”

“Heh, sure felt like it…” he shook his head. “But, it’s alright. I’s got a place with my sky pirate mates in Evermore… an’ you two boys got a place in your games an’ are doing well for yourselves. The sad-sacks in our lives can stay in the past where they belong,”

“Y-Yeah! If they didn’t want to miss out, they should’ve gave a damn about ya! You guys have gotten a lot farther than they’d ever thought!” Kanji exclaimed.

“(Calm down, lad, ye’d be overselling it,)”

Ryuji chuckled. “Thanks, guys.”

Junpei raised his glass. “To great moms, and leaving behind shitty parents?”

“Cheers,” Khunbish replied, tapping his glass against his, followed by Kanji and Ryuji’s. “Alright, enough of our tragic backstories--- lets eat!”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_~Back at the Cat’s Cradle~_

Taking Swaine’s offer, WG packed her bag to stay at the inn. With Khunbish staying at Ryuji’s, she decided to occupy his room; she had spent the afternoon cleaning up discarded takeout sacks and tidying up the room--- having gained a habit of making sure hotel rooms weren’t too messy for housekeepers--- before settling down. She had packed her laptop and chargers, thankful that the inn was updated enough to have electricity; there was no television, however, so she packed some of her favorite books and handheld videogames.

Around this time, ATF stepped in through a portal. “Taking a vacation from Elsa’s Ice Castle, I take it?” he quipped.

“Very funny--- and pretty sure Elsa’s castle was warmer than my place.” WG retorted, looking over at her brother. “How are my pets?”

“They’re doing good--- Kinny was a bit anxious, but once I made a space for her, she became less tense. The rest of the animals are wise to ignore her; TC keeps jumping up on the counter--- crazy cat ate my ramen; and Sophie keeps snuggling up to me and whining for attention.” He leaned against the dresser, watching as his sister unpacked. “How are our snek-bois?”

“Well, Khunbish found a second benefit; not sure about Swaine yet, but he finally decided to get out into public,” She sighed, sitting down on the bed. “…We all went to the Persona 5 world; Junpei, Kanji and I went to see Ryuji after he had gone home, and… well, his dad had paid a visit.”

ATF’s eyes widened. “Oh no… Is everyone alright? PLEASE tell me Kanji threw a chair at that guy!”

WG shook her head. “He got away. …But Khunbish is staying with Ryuji; for some reason, he’s become really protective of him since last night,”

Her brother nodded. “I know--- I had a vision of last night a while back. …Ryuji didn’t want to be home alone, packed his bag late last night and stayed over here; your pirate-beau could tell something was wrong, but didn’t press for answers, and the two of them just… bonded. …Oh and they cuddled.”

“I see. I wonder what--- THEY CUDDLED?” She grabbed her brother by the shirt collar, shaking him. “YoumeantwoofmyfavessnuggledtogetherandImissedit?!”

ATF pried out of her grip, his eyes still shaking until he steadied his head, blinking. “…Yes. As to the reason why… I have no idea, his dad obviously didn’t come over until today. The real mystery is why he didn’t stay with Akira or anyone else.”

WG rubbed her chin. “That is a mystery… I hope he opens up, especially since Khunbish can read his emotions. …I wonder what kind of emotions Swaine’s sensing, too.”

The immortal teen looked at her, cocking his head. “Why would you want to know?”

WG paced a bit. “I dunno… I still feel guilty about this whole thing, so I don’t know whether he’s just trying to be nice or if he’s really sincere about not blaming me, taking pity on me or if he really cares… I mean, I torment him sometimes so I keep thinking he’s putting on an act, but on the other hand I’ve been supporting him a bit so maybe he forgives me?”

ATF rolled his eyes. “I think you’re over-thinking it. He wants you here, that’s what matters.” He looked at the door. “…Speaking of which, has _my_ husbando come to visit yet?”

It was WG’s turn to roll her eyes this time. “Marcassin’s talking with Swaine--- and I’m pretty sure he’d hate being called your husbando.”

“I don’t make fun of your obsessions, you don’t make fun of mine!” With that, ATF ran out the door.

WG shook her head. “…It’s amazing we don’t have restraining orders, yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter(s) will mainly be filler. 
> 
> In other words, LET THE SLEEPOVER SHENANIGANS COMMENCE!


	22. Sleepover With A Snek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter involves innuendo.
> 
> ...should I boost the rating?

_6:00 pm_

After dinner, Ryuji suggested the guys have a videogame tournament to kick off their sleepover. “Oi, I thought ye lot had school an’ rehearsals tomorrow.” Khunbish questioned as the teens set up the game system.

“We’ve done it before--- I mean, my game involved us staying up until midnight most of the time,” Junpei assured him. “Nothing like sleeping in class couldn’t resolve, heh.”

“Our grades don’t really suffer that much; hell, we’re known to stay in the same grades since the day our games were released, and automatically get boosted to a new class or occupation when a spin-off calls for it.” Kanji added.

“As far as rehearsals go, we’re mainly working on the filler scenes this week--- you know, like when the player chooses to do a request or something.” Ryuji added. “So we won’t have to worry about too much. We pretty much covered the main storyline.”

“Alright, if ye say so,” Khunbish replied with a shrug, leaning against the back of the couch.

“Heh heh, don’t worry about it, Bishie. We’re always staying up late, we can handle it.” He looked at the screen, letting out a groan. “Aw man, it needs to do an upgrade. That’s gonna take forever,”

“95 minutes remaining…” Junpei noted.

“Ah, it’s just an hour and a half. We can wait,” Kanji scoffed, sitting on the couch; he took out one of his kits, beginning to knit.

“Whatcha makin’ lad?” Khunbish asked, watching him work.

“Just a scarf. Everyone pretty much made a request for something since it’s been freezing. This one’s for Nanako-chan,”

“Kanji’s really good at sewing and stuff. I remember when he used to be really shy about it.” Junpei stated, giving the rebel a nudge. “You’re over it now, right? I mean after all, it’s 2019!”

“W-Watch it, you almost made me miss a purl!”

“Aye, ye did mention that before back at the Inn this morning,” Khunbish noted.

Junpei nodded. “Before everyone knew, he was afraid to tell anyone because some girls made fun of him for fixing a backpack, saying it wasn’t manly; Yosuke still makes gay cracks about him sometimes,”

“Junpei!” Kanji snapped, blushing.

“That be odd…” Khunbish rubbed his chin. “If men were able to do such craftwork, you’d think women would be fancied by such a thing--- don’t they still go for the sensitive types? Not to mention how much more handy that would make you around the house--- with so many women in the working world, let alone times when they’re pregnant an’ need an extra hand, a guy who has a knack for sewing, cooking an’ the like would be considered an ideal husband.”

“Yeah, times have changed man. This ain’t the 1930’s anymore,” Ryuji added. “Plus, it’s cool what you can make, especially with so many people making requests.”

“Thanks… b-but if they keep throwing requests at me, I’m gonna start charging them.” Kanji replied, a blush to his cheeks.

“Speaking of girls… I heard there’s gonna be a new one in a remake of your game, Ryu-kun. Any details?” Junpei asked.

“Her name is Kasumi-san. I think she’s a cousin of the Arisato twins, but that’s as much as I know.” Ryuji answered, grinning as he rubbed his chin. “I’m hoping she’ll be our own FemC, then I’d have an official love-interest like you two,”

“Ohhh, ye lads have girlfriends, do ya?” Khunbish said with a sly grin.

Kanji flinched, almost missing a seam. “U-Um, well…”

“You know it! Chidori-san and I have been an item ever since FES, and Kanji’s been tight with Nao-cakes for years!” Junpei replied in confidence.

“S-Shut up, Junpei! …And don’t call her ‘Nao-cakes’!”

“Seriously? I know it was written for the games, but you guys are actually canon outside the plot??” Ryuji asked, surprised.

“Well… not at first. Chidori became dormant until FES, but after a couple years we decided to try and see what a real-life relationship would be like.” Junpei answered, tipping his cap a bit.

“A-And Naoto-kun and I aren’t exactly official. She feels a bit awkward about it, thinking others would say we’re just dating because everyone considers us canon, so we’re just keeping it on a friendship-basis until she feels more comfortable.” Kanji stated, returning to his knitting. He looked at Khunbish. “What about you, man? You got a special girl in your game?”

Junpei snickered. “Considering he and Ryuji are at-war over WG, I don’t think so.”

Kanji did a double-take. “What?! You guys got the hots for Wherever Girl?!”

“Well, I wouldn’t say it like that…” Khunbish replied, rubbing the back of his neck as he blushed.

“Why would you care, Kan-chan? Unless…” Ryuji gasped. “NO WAY! You’re crushing on her too?!”

“(Geez, maybe he’s into girls who look like guys),” Junpei quipped.

“I’m not crushing on her! …WG and I have been friends for a long while, that’s all. She was one of few people who never picked on me for sewing--- even asked for tips for her own projects--- namely because she was into more masculine stuff.”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense. WG said she doesn’t like feminine stuff like wearing dresses or makeup.” Ryuji replied, scratching his head.

“Yeah… her sisters always made her dress up, taking two hours just to work on her hair alone.” Junpei stated, pulling out his wallet and taking out her picture. “Based on her senior pic, I believe it.”

Everyone looked at the picture. “WHOA! That’s WG?! Hot damn!”

“Wow--- wait, what are you doing with that picture?” Kanji asked Junpei.

“We exchanged pictures once—mine was me in my Arena form. She said it was okay if I showed people, since they probably wouldn’t believe it was her anyway.” Junpei replied. “She really hated it--- said her mom pretty much had her sister do her makeup and hair, and they had to do several retakes because she kept flipping off the camera,”

Khunbish looked at the photo, shaking his head. “I’d throw it away. I wouldn’t want some ‘fake’ photo of my angel,” he scoffed, sneering a bit.

“Seriously? I’d like a copy--- she looks great!” Ryuji stated.

“But it ain’t really her--- she may be smiling, but ye know she was miserable the whole time. Ye can’t just dress someone up an’ expect them to feel great about it!”

“Easy, Bishie… What’re you getting so worked up about?”

The pirate-naga sighed, shaking his head. “Just… It’s hard to like the photo when ye hear about what happened behind the scenes,”

“I have to agree with Khunbish. Sure, WG looks pretty, but it wasn’t her choice.” Kanji spoke up.

Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck. “Huh, I guess you’re right…”

Junpei tucked the photo away. “Yeah--- there’s better pictures she shares with us anyway.” He looked at the TV. “Ugh, 90 minutes left…”

“How about we go somewhere while we wait?” Khunbish asked.

“No offense, dude, but I don’t think you’d do too well in the city--- people would be stepping or tripping over your tail every five seconds!” Kanji replied, putting away his knitting project.

“And that’s only if no one’s screaming.” Ryuji added.

Khunbish rolled his eyes. “Well, do ye have any ideas? Pretty sure we’re going to run outta conversation options,”

“Why don’t we switch over the input and watch a movie?” Junpei suggested.

“Sounds good--- ah, shit, the video rental place is closed though.” Ryuji grunted.

“Don’t you have any movies here?” Kanji asked.

“Yeah… but they’re mostly either movies my mom watches or ones I’d watch as a kid. …Mom won’t let me get R-rated movies, yet.”

“…you’d think after the shit your game involves, she’d lighten up on THAT rule…”Junpei muttered.

“Oi, the rating doesn’t matter so long as we’re entertained, right? Let’s see what ye got,” Khunbish said, slithering over to the TV stand where the movies were kept. He browsed through them. “…how about some Disney movies?”

“Hell yeah, man! Ya never outgrow the Disney flicks!” Kanji exclaimed.

“Well, it’s better than the rom-coms,” Junpei replied, looking at their options.

“Okay, let me change the input. One movie should be enough,” Ryuji replied, clicking the remote.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_8:45 PM_

‘One movie’ turned into a ‘Disney Marathon’, as the pirate and teens became engrossed in the films.

It had actually started with an argument over what movie to watch; Ryuji wanted to watch _Tarzan,_ Kanji preferred _Hercules,_ Junpei picked _A Goofy Movie,_ and Khunbish chose _Aladdin._ Unable to decide, they decided they could pop in one movie then switch flicks if anyone got bored.

No one got bored, and when  _Tarzan_ was over with they drew straws to decide who could choose the next movie; currently they were starting _Aladdin._

“I love this movie,” Khunbish said a bit eagerly, as he sat on a bean-bag chair Ryuji brought out for him, all of them sharing a bowl of popcorn and sodas (save for the naga, who was drinking water so not to risk another sugar-sickness).

“I heard they made a live-action version of it,” Kanji stated as they talked through the previews.

“Yeah, I might see it--- but only because I’m a fan of Will Smith,” Junpei replied.

“I doubt he can top Robin Williams,” Khunbish commented.

“So you guys watch Disney movies over in your world, too?” Ryuji questioned.

“Aye, we can pull them up online. We’s all got our favorites--- Swaine himself says he likes _Treasure Planet,_ namely due to the technology used in the movie.”

“Can we laugh at the fact that the pirate likes a movie about a thief, and the thief likes the movie that involves pirates?” Junpei cracked.

The archer rolled his eyes. “Very clever, lad.”

“I tried watching that movie… kinda hit me in the feels for--- well, reasons.” Ryuji stated.

“Yeah, I felt the same way when I first saw _The Lion King,”_ Kanji replied, solemnly.

“Saying it now--- NO ONE bring up _Frozen!”_ Junpei scoffed, if only to help keep the mood light.

Ryuji smirked. “Is this because a _certain someone’s_ voice-actor sang a _certain song_ \---“

“Shut it!”

“So what are your boys’ favorite Disney movies?” Khunbish asked quickly.

“Um… I-I like _Beauty and the Beast,”_ Kanji said, blushing a bit.

“That’s a good one,” Junpei agreed. “I sorta liked _Angels in the Outfield,_ but mainly because I’m a baseball buff,”

“I liked _Mulan…_ but the movie got ruined.” Ryuji muttered. “O-Otherwise, I like the Muppet movies!”

“I bet Naoto likes _Mulan,_ right Kanji?” Junpei quipped.

“Very funny--- actually her favorite is _The Great Mouse Detective,”_ Kanji brought up. “How about Chidori’s?”

“Um… huh. I’ll have to ask her that,”

“You guys have been dating for _how long_ and you don’t even know her favorite Disney movie??”

“It’s not like watching movies is all we do!”

“Oi, quiet down, the movie’s starting!” Khunbish spoke up.

“…By the way, did you know Jafar’s design was drawn by a pregnant woman?” Ryuji asked.

“Shush!”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_11:03 PM_

Once the guys finally had their fill of Disney movies (let alone had enough songs stuck in their heads to make a whole playlist), they remembered the gaming system’s upgrades and switched over, taking turns playing against each other in a _Mortal Kombat_ tournament.

Currently, it was Junpei VS Ryuji; the rebel and the pirate both watched as their friends button-mashed and unleashed combinations against each other. “Wow. Ye boys really know yer game mechanics,” Khunbish replied, slightly amazed.

“Don’t be surprised--- these guys pretty much breathe videogames,” Kanji replied, having returned to his knitting while he waited for a turn.

“Play ‘em, breathe ‘em--- we pretty much LIVE in ‘em,” Ryuji commented quickly, as he and Junpei did everything to out-game each other.

“Check out THIS combo!” Junpei exclaimed, unleashing a combo… which resulted in Ryuji’s character getting their spine ripped out! “And Round 3 goes to the champion!”

“Eff you, Iori!”

“Alright! Who wants to play the winner?”

“I’ll take a shot at it,” Kanji replied, setting his project aside; he chose his character, and they begun a new round.

Khunbish felt his stomach rumble. _Hm? That be odd… I’m sure I ate my fill today._ He thought, but shook his head. If anything, he could just drink water.

“C’mon, Kan-chan! You got this! Just--- no do Triangle, Circle, R, and Square!” Ryuji was coaching.

“I know what I’m doing--- shit!” Kanji cursed as he was defeated.

“Wow dude---you put up a better fight in Arena!” Junpei teased.

“Shut up! I’ll get you in the next two rounds!”

Khunbish felt his stomach rumble again… and something felt off. It wasn’t just mild hunger. “Um, Ryuji? Where’s yer bathroom?” he asked.

“Down the hall to the left… but it’s pretty small. You sure you’ll fit?” Ryuji questioned, taking note of his long scaly body.

“I’ll try,” With that, the pirate slithered off.

“…And Round 2 belongs to me! Ha!” Kanji exclaimed, grinning at Junpei.

“I was just going easy on you,” Junpei replied with a smirk as they started Round 3.

“You were not, you jerk!”

“Alright, I’ll give you everything this time!”

“Quiet, man, the shippers will hear ya,” Ryuji joked.

“Oh real mature---“

**_“AAAUGH! WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK?!”_ **

All the guys gave a jolt, looking down the hall. Ryuji was the first to run in.

Junpei and Kanji listened from down the hall.

“Khunbish, what’s--- WHOA!”

“Gah! Ryuji! Don’t look!”

“Shielding my eyes now--- h-holy shit man…! H-How do you have…?”

“I don’t know! It must be part of the curse!”

“Okay, okay… Well… hey, maybe this could be a benefit?”

“J-Just go back to yer game!”

“Okay, man, okay… H-Hey, make sure you aim at the toilet!”

“OUT!”

Kanji and Junpei both exchanged glances, as Ryuji came back down the hall, a bemused look on his face. “So, um… what’s wrong with Khunbish?” Kanji asked, letting out an awkward cough.

“N-Nothing, nothing. Just… getting used to taking a piss differently.” Ryuji clumsily replied, trying to take a drink of soda with a shaky hand.

“You sure? …Cuz, you have that same look on your face as the one when you first saw King Kamoshida,” Junpei replied, doing his best not to let out a snicker.

Ryuji did a spit-take. “S-Shut up, man!”

Khunbish came slithering out; there was a blush to his face. “So… is it my turn yet?” he asked.

“Sure is--- I just slaughtered Junpei’s character!” Kanji declared.

“WHAT?!” Junpei turned towards the screen. “No fair, dude! I wasn’t even paying attention!”

“’You do better in Arena’,”

“That’s it--- we’re having a rematch!”

“No way, I want a turn!” Khunbish scoffed.

“Not until I beat him in a fair match!”

“There’s no such thing as a fair match in battle, lad.”

“Junpei, I have three words for you,” Kanji said with a smirk. _“Let it go~”_

“Oh, shut up!” Junpei groused, handing over the controller to Khunbish. “Whatever, my thumbs are tired from button-mashing anyway.”

The pirate and rebel rolled their eyes, before starting their round. Ryuji was still quiet, trying to eat popcorn but it kept falling from his hand before reaching his mouth.

“Psst, hey, what’s wrong dude?” Junpei asked in a whisper.

Ryuji looked at the pirate, before turning and whispering into Junpei’s ear. The baseball player stifled his mouth. “I knew it!” he whispered in a squeak. He then moved over to Kanji, then whispered into his ear…

Kanji’s controller dropped and he did a 90-degree turn towards Junpei. “What do you MEAN he’s got two?!”

*Fling! Crash!*

Khunbish accidentally lost his grip on his controller, Ryuji having to duck when it flew over his shoulder and hit the wall; the pirate’s blush was deep red now.

“Um… o-kay, time for bed!” Ryuji finally exclaimed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_1:55 AM_

After a rock-paper-scissors tournament, Kanji got the privilege of sleeping on the couch, while Junpei slept on one of the futons, Ryuji on the other one; Khunbish fell asleep on the bean-bag chair, curled up around it and resting on his coils. Aya had gotten in by the time everyone had fallen asleep; only the naga and track star woke up, greeted with an assuring smile from the mother before drifting back to sleep.

At least Ryuji did. Khunbish couldn’t bring himself to fall back to sleep.

His stomach growled again, much harder than last time. _Seriously? What do I have to do, eat a whole cow?_ The pirate thought. He had eaten the last of the popcorn, drank at least 100 ounces of water (not counting the amount he pissed out a while ago), and he believed the rice at dinner would have helped filled him up.

He slithered over to the kitchen, looking in the fridge. There weren’t any leftovers, sadly; outside of some milk, eggs, bread, cheese, lunch meat, and vegetables, he had doubts there would be enough to satisfy his hunger.

There came footsteps, and Junpei entered--- he was holding a baseball bat. “Oh thank God, it’s just you.” He breathed. “I was worried that bastard snuck back in…”

“Sorry… My stomach woke me up,” Khunbish replied quietly, patting him on the shoulder. “Go back to bed, lad.”

“You’re hungry? But we brought you a bunch of food today…”

“Aye, but I guess it wasn’t enough.”

Ryuji entered, letting out a sigh. “Just you guys…” he whispered. “What are you doing up?”

“Khunbish is still hungry,” Junpei replied; as if on cue, the pirate’s stomach rumbled something fierce. “Wow… you must really be starving,”

Khunbish held his stomach, wincing. “I’d better go get something to eat… You two head back to bed,” he replied.

“Whoa, no way--- someone sees a snake-guy out on the streets this late at night, and everyone’s gonna freak.” Ryuji replied, walking over and grabbing his jacket. “There’s a couple 24-HR fast-food places right up the street. I can go grab you something,”

“I’ll go too--- chances are, we may have to order you a few things. What sounds good?” Junpei asked.

“Anything--- but no sweets,” Khunbish reminded. “But… ye sure ye can afford it?”

“Yeah, our games pay us pretty good, so it’s no big deal.”

“We’ll be right back--- just guard the house,” Ryuji stated, and the two walked out.

The pirate sighed, leaning against the bean-bag chair as he waited. Kanji was snoring loudly on the couch, a plush-toy cradled in his arm; the naga slithered over and covered up the teen with a blanket, before looking out the window.

He shut his eyes a moment, thinking about the day. Thankfully, his instincts were mellowed down, sensing no danger even when thinking about the boys; he felt sympathy towards WG, having his own memories of having to get gussied up against his will; the elation of delving into the Disney classics just for the heck of it; and the awkward moments that would probably become a funny story far into the future.

The only thing he couldn’t shake was the sense that Ryuji was having a problem with one of his friends; however it didn’t sound serious--- he could just feel the teen was upset over something. Chances are, they had an argument and weren’t on speaking terms, but he wasn’t going to intervene in that situation.

After all, he was already interfering in the teen’s home life.

45 minutes had passed; at this point Khunbish had started rewatching _Aladdin,_ keeping the TV muted and having the captions on so not to disturb anyone’s sleep. During the “One Jump Ahead” sequence, Junpei and Ryuji had returned, looking worn out and bedraggled.

Khunbish looked over, seeing their arms filled with take-out bags and several cups. Rushing over, he lightened their load, using his tail to set the bags over by the beanbag chair. “Sorry for this--- must’ve took a while for th’ food to cook,” he apologized, seeing the tired look in their eyes.

“Nah… a couple of stoners were in line at the burger place; Ryuji went over to the taco place next door to get some food while I waited for them to make up their frickin’ minds,” Junpei groused.

“The cook was in a bad mood, so I only ordered 3 things… then we had to fill up the cups with water…” Ryuji yawned.

“I appreciate it, lads. Thank ya,” Khunbish told them, slithering back over to the beanbag chair and chowing down.

Junpei and Ryuji set the last couple bags down on the table, both collapsing on the futons. “From now on… feed the snake BEFORE midnight,”

“Never… feed ‘em… after midnight… zzzzzz…” Ryuji said softly before dosing off.

Within the five minutes Khunbish finished his late-night meal, Junpei and Ryuji were out cold. Grabbing their blankets, he covered them both, giving them both a pat on the head before coiling up around his beanbag, turning off the movie and closing his eyes.

 _Should have sleepovers more often…_ the pirate thought, finding the night went better than he had hoped.

With his mind at peace for the moment, and his stomach settled, he managed to fall asleep at last.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's YOUR favorite Disney movie?


	23. A Touch of Humor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to boost this story up to a 'T' rating due to language... and other things XD

While Khunbish, Ryuji, Kanji, and Junpei were having their own sleepover that night, the rest of this story’s cast were settling in for another night at the Cat’s Cradle, excluding ones who would have to return to their respectful kingdoms in order to manage things, check on certain conditions…

…or to have some distance from fangirling immortal ageless teenagers who may (or may not!) know how to open portals, and who have a tendency to hug the object of their affection in greeting.

Had Marcassin known he’d be trapped in a hug that could rival that of a naga’s, he would have just called.

“Attention, ATF--- Step. Away. From. The Emperor!” WG said, pretending to be speaking through a megaphone. “I repeat, step AWAY from the Emperor, or face another lawsuit!”

“THIS from the girl who tackled her animated-crushes upon eye-contact,” ATF scoffed, releasing Marcassin from the hug.

“Must you do that every time?” Marcassin questioned, brushing himself off.

“…Yes.”

“Well, since Khunbish is hanging out in the Persona world with the others, why don’t we head back to Evermore? We’ve still got winter preparations to take care of, and Batu will want an update on his top archer,” Roland suggested.

“Aye, and Chingis has been concerned about his blood-brother since the night he got sick,” Tani added. “Been sharpening blades ‘n’ hacking at monsters to keep his mind off his worries--- eventually we’re gonna be overloaded on hair-splitting weaponry and run out of enemies for him to fight!”

“At least he only needs one more benefit to break the curse,” WG replied in optimism.

“And I’m sure your friends will help him find it.” Evan assured, smiling. “I’ve never seen Khunbish so protective before, surely that means they care about each other!”

“Not quite--- he and Ryuji would always butt heads. Maybe turning into a naga changed that?”

“Probably. The only time he was so defensive about a kid was when he had to babysit me--- and that’s only because he didn’t want Dad to bash his head in if I got hurt,” Tani said with a chuckle.

“I can imagine you were a real live-wire,” Roland quipped.

“Oh, the crew told ya their stories, huh?”

Evan turned to Swaine. “We’ll come visit you again, and if you need anything at all, just contact us on Leafbook,” he said.

“I brought you your tablet. I realized in all the haste we forgot to pack it,” Marcassin told his brother, handing him a tablet with a dark-green case. “Just use the video-call if you need to talk to any of us,”

“We can spend the night here with you too, if you want.” Esther added.

“Yeah--- if the guys are having their own sleepover, we can have one too!” ATF exclaimed.

“I’ll have to ask my mom. Since it’s a school night, I might not be able to make it,” Oliver stated.

“You guys don’t have to stay over. Plus, it’s still early in the afternoon!” Swaine spoke up, then nodded over. “Plus, WG will be keeping me company.”

“I will? …I mean, y-yeah, I can open portals to you guys and… stuff.” The authoress said, suddenly flustered. The thief had to smile and shake his head at her sudden shyness.

“Great--- you stay with one brother, I’ll stay with the other,” ATF said, linking his arm with Marcassin’s.

“Anti. I am not formal enough to refrain from casting ‘Fireball’ on those who violate my personal space.” The emperor warned. ATF rolled his eyes and let go.

“Lets hang around the city. Tani did say I should get out and around,” Swaine suggested.

“We’ll see you all later, then. Good luck--- and keep looking on the bright side, Swaine.” Roland encouraged.

Bidding one another farewell, the sequel-cast went back to Evermore. Afterwards, the group went out into the streets of Al-Mamoon; WG and ATF browsed along the booths, the two fans always having their interests piqued and awed at the vibrant details of the location.

Swaine, in the meantime, tried not to focus on his tail so much. Thankfully, the others were walking alongside it to keep it from getting stepped on (especially since it probably had a bruise after Kanji stomped on it). They stopped at the milk fountains, deciding to get some curry for dinner; the thief-naga wasn’t hungry, but wanted to keep his appetite as satisfied as possible.

However after one bite, he felt too full. “You have to wait the full 3 days,” ATF told him. “If you try to make yourself eat, you’ll suffer from overfeeding and get sick, plus it will throw your schedule off, make you bloated, and you won’t be able to eat for over a week, maybe months.”

Swaine set his curry down, looking at him. “You sure know a lot about snakes,”

“I told you I have a pet one. …Hey! Maybe I can bring him over, and he can show you perks of being a snake,”

Swaine cringed at the thought of being near another snake. Being half of one was one thing, but being near an actual one was different.

As if reading his mind, ATF patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, Ryojii isn’t like other snakes. He doesn’t bite (unless you’re an enemy), and just likes to curl up and snuggle. He’s also a vegetarian.”

“Dude, snakes are carnivores!” WG scoffed.

“Tell that to Ryojii--- every time I tried to feed him, he hissed at his food and slithered off. It wasn’t until he dunked his head in my parfait that I found he likes fruit!”

“What kind of snake do you have?” Esther asked, curiously.

ATF shrugged. “No idea. I’ve tried looking up his breed, but nothing ever matched! …I know he likes cheeseburgers though, that’s the only meat he’ll eat.” He turned back to Swaine. “Point is, he’s pretty friendly. He acts more like a cat than a snake--- I think it’s because he grew up alongside my kitten, Captain Sprinkles.” He finished his curry, standing up. “Speaking of which, I’d better go check on them--- last time I was gone too long, Rickshaw ordered an X-rated movie on Pay-Per-View, and Rodolfo got into my M-rated videogames.”

“See you later, Anti. And thanks,” Swaine replied.

With a salute, the immortal-teen fell backwards into a portal back home.

Esther chuckled. “Your brother’s pretty funny, WG.” She said. “He’s so odd,”

“And that’s him on a normal basis,” WG quipped, shrugging. “It runs in the family, I guess--- that is, if we were blood related.”

“That’s weird. You two are practically twins!” Swaine scoffed.

“I know—meanwhile you and Markimoo look nothing alike, but are biological brothers,” Her cellphone rang just then. “Hello?”

 _“Stop calling me that,”_ came Marcassin’s voice before he hung up.

WG blinked. “…How does he DO that?”

Suddenly, a little boy came over, looking at the naga tail. “Whoa. You’re half-snake?” he said.

“It’s a curse,” Swaine told him.

“Wow. …Can I touch it?”

“Um… I’d prefer you not…”

“Omar!” came a woman’s voice, as the mother of the boy came over and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the naga. “How many times have I told you NOT to approach strange beasts?”

“Hey!” Esther exclaimed, standing up. “That ‘wild beast’ happens to be our friend!”

“Yeah, he was cursed. You shouldn’t talk about people like that,” Oliver scolded.

The woman only looked at Swaine, a look of mild disgust in her eyes. “My mistake. It was hard to tell he was human,”

“I take it you have the same problem?” WG remarked. The woman huffed and walked off, pulling her son along (who continued to look back and stare). “Geez. …Hey, Oliver, you got any ‘Compassion’ in that locket of yours?”

“Just ignore that woman, Swaine. I know her--- she doesn’t like animals very much,” Esther tried to assure Swaine.

“I’m fine. C’mon, lets go somewhere else… people are starting to stare,” Swaine murmured.

The others looked around; sure enough, a few city dwellers had stopped to look at the naga, some whispering to one another. “Hey, if you want to keep watching, admission is $10, people! Either cough up or keep walking!” WG hollered, the crowd quickly going back to their own business.

Swaine blushed, gritting his teeth. “That. Wasn’t. Necessary.”

“Believe me, it was.”

“Jeepers… I remember getting the same looks back in Ding Dong Dell when I first came to your world,” Oliver stated. “And that was just because I was wearing different clothes than everyone else!”

“Yeah, well, a change of clothes won’t exactly help in my case,” Swaine muttered, crossing his arms.

“No--- people just need to change their attitudes. In Reality, it’s no different--- people will gawk, gossip, tease and torment over anything that is different than what they’re used to. I say let them make their snobby remarks--- but if they so much as lay a hand on someone just for being different, THAT’S when it’s time to stop mixing words and take action!”

Esther and Oliver looked at her in surprise. “Um… have you had experience in this sort of thing, WG?” the bard carefully asked.

“I’ve gone to high school AND visited the hellsite known as Tumblr. I WISH I lacked the experience,” The authoress gathered their curry bowls to return to the stand, while putting a lid on Swaine’s for him to eat later. “Well, how about we head to---“

“Right there!” came a voice, as the woman from before returned, this time with two guards. “That is the creature I told you about.”

“(Fuck, can’t this hag get a life?)” Swaine whispered under his breath.

“What’s going on, sir?” Oliver asked one of the guards, disregarding the woman’s glare.

“Oliver! I didn’t know you were here. …W-Well, this woman says there was a half-snake, half-man lounging by the milk fountains and, well concerned for the safety of her child, asked us to dispatch it—him.” The guard said, catching his words.

“Weren’t you guys informed by Emperor Marcassin that this is his brother, and that the city was not to be alarmed by his presence?” WG questioned, folding her arms and giving the guards a look.

“Yes, we tried to explain that to her, but---“ the second guard tried to say.

“But nothing! Just because someone thinks its weird doesn’t mean they have the right to go against an authority’s proclamation, especially since he’s not hurting anyone!” Esther snapped.

“Ha! As far as you know. I’ve seen beasts act tame before attacking on impulse!” The woman huffed.

Swaine clenched his fists, his eyes turning yellow for a brief moment before he shut them, turning away.

“Look! He turns away in shame--- he knows it to be true…”

“ _Agh, can it would ya, ye loudmouth?!”_

Swaine’s eyes shot open at the voice. _Oh, no…_ he thought, feeling sick to his stomach as he saw a familiar lantern-faced fairy hopping over to the fountains.

“Mister Drippy! What are you doing here?” Oliver asked.

“Several reasons, mun! For one thing, ye come over to this world an’ forget to pay youer ol’ friend an’ Lord High Lord of th’ Fairies a visit? Plus heard from Lofty on Leafbook that ol’ Thief-Face an’ Khun-Boy got themselves up an’ cursed as nagas, an’ felt I should come an’ check out th’ curse myself ‘n’ see if a remedy could be found,” The fairy paused to look at Swaine, taking note of the tail. “…Oi, yep, that be one heck of a curse ye got, mun.”

“(Kill me now),” Swaine murmured, his face in his palm.

“Anyway! Th’ purrprioter at th’ Inn told me ye all were walkin’ ‘round town. All of a sudden I hear this harpy complainin’ to th’ guards ‘bout some snake hanging ‘round th’ fountains, an’ followed suit, just in time to hear her run her mouth ‘bout wanting someone canned just fer living!”

“I was just thinking of my son! We don’t know what this--- THING--- is capable of!” The woman sneered in defense.

“Oi! This ‘thing’ happens to be a good friend o’ th’ Pure Hearted One, Lord High Lord of the Fairies, brother of the Hamelin Emperor, an’ one o’ th’ main heroes who took down Shadar! If youer gonna judge him just cuz he has th’ butt of a snake, then ye clearly need an attitude adjustment, miss!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but with all these statements on his behalf, we cannot exile him from the city.” The first guard said.

“Correct. The fairy drives home a good point,” The second assured.

The woman scowled. “If we let one monster in this city, then they’ll ALL want to come in! Curse or not, hero or not, we can’t make an exception!”

“…You shitpost on social media, don’t you?” WG remarked to the woman.

“I have to agree.” Came a voice, as Rashaad stepped up next. “Allowing a monster to inhabit our city and disturb the peace would be a great sin,” he turned to the woman. “…And as a Great Sage, I believe it is my duty to encourage you to leave, or be silent.”

“WHAT?!” The woman squawked.

“Anyone who dares declare one of my daughter’s closest friends as a monster solely based on his appearance is considered a monster themselves. Should you and anyone else continue to berate him because of something that is out of his control, I _shall_ request the Cowlipha to pass exile. Once again, I recommend you keep your criticisms to yourself, or else move out of our city.”

The woman fumed, before turning on her heel and storming off.

The rest of the crowd looked at one another; someone stepped forth, a young teen, clearing his throat. “S-Sorry for staring at you so much. Just… never seen anything like this happen to someone before,” he awkwardly apologized.

“It’s… alright,” Swaine answered, feeling a bit smothered from all the attention.

“How did you get cursed?” a little girl asked.

“Um… We went to the Vault of Tears, found a naga-statue which we accidentally broke, and I got covered in green dust. I-I’m working on breaking the curse,”

“Why? You look so cool!” another little boy exclaimed. “Hey, can you swallow things whole like a snake does? Like a full melon or something?”

“(Remus, that’s enough,)” the boy’s father chided.

“Alright, folks, show’s over. Give th’ snake-mun some space!” Drippy exclaimed, ushering a few people off, the crowd dispersing once again. Once the group had some breathing room again, the fairy sat down on the fountain, looking up at Swaine. “Alright, mun, time to fill me in. Ol’ Drippy’s sick of being kept in th’ dark!”

“I didn’t exactly want anyone to know—“ Swaine began.

“Well, everyone knows now. Spill it! What happened? I need details if I’m gonna help ya break this curse, like!”

“We went down to the Vault of Tears a few days ago,” WG said, giving the fairy the story in a nutshell--- found a statue, Swaine and Khunbish ended up breaking it, turned into nagas the next day, and now had to find 3 benefits to return back to normal.

Drippy nodded, pacing a bit. “Sounds like a tough case fer someone as self-conscious as you, Swaine… But, if ye found one benefit, ye can find th’ rest. En’t any tougher than th’ problems we’ve faced before!”

“So… you’re not going to make any jokes?” Oliver asked.

“Well, of course I will, mun! Fairies are known fer humor! ‘Course, I en’t one to tease someone ‘bout their sorrows… more like help ‘em laugh it off! That’s often th’ best way to get over something.”

“And what, exactly, kind of jokes are you going to make?” Swaine asked with a sneer.

“Give me time, mun! I can’t make cracks right on th’ spot! Who do ye think I am, Robin Williams?! Never made naga-jokes before mun, so I’ll need a minute to whip up some good material!”

“He passed out after he transformed--- almost broke my hand during the process, too!” WG stated. “You could work with that,”

“Aye, that’s a great start! Thanks, Wherever-Lass!”

“WG!” Swaine snapped.

The authoress rolled her eyes. “Look, _I’m sorry_ dude, but the way you were gripping my hand, it was like the time Brielle went into labor! Plus, it’s not like I took pictures afterward like Ryuji did,”

“Ah, I wondered why Khun-Boy was tagged in that picture!” Drippy exclaimed.

Swaine rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. “Funny. VERY funny,”

Esther rubbed his back. “Oh, lighten up, Swaine. We’re only kidding,” she assured him.

“Yeah… I mean, there’s got to be something you can laugh about now, right?” Oliver asked.

The thief sighed, thinking for a moment before smirking. “Heh… well… it hurt at the time, but rolling down the stairs that one time probably looked pretty funny.”

“You fell down the stairs?!” WG gasped.

“Yeah, the first night Khunbish and I stayed at the Inn--- he showed me a way to crawl down the stairs easier so it wouldn’t hurt my stomach so much, and how to climb up them. Then we ordered room service--- the cook probably had a heart-attack when he saw two orders for the entire menu,”

“Crikey! Were ye lacking restraint again?” Drippy asked.

“Nagas have to eat their fill every 3 days,” WG informed him. “However, they have a specific diet,”

“Ah, like what?”

Swaine smirked. “Well… _fairies_ sound pretty tasty right now,” he said in a sly tone.

Drippy backed away. “Don’t look at me like that, mun!”

“Don’t worry, he just ate. Plus, he won’t eat you… maybe.” WG said, while sneaking Swaine a wink.

“Oi, ye two got a sick sense o’ humor, don’t ya?”

Swaine chuckled. “Hey, you were the one who said we should joke about it.”

“I meant about youer curse, mun, not about making me into an hors d'oeuvre! …And, oi! I en’t supposed to be th’ straight mun!”

“Quiet, Drippy, the slash fans will hear ya,” WG quipped.

“Oh, THAT be mature!”

“I’m glad to see the curse did not affect your friendship,” Rashaad noted with a smile, speaking up after listening to the group’s conversation. “It does not seem so different than when you were human,”

Swaine rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah… I’m glad to see that never changed,” He gave a courteous nod to Rashaad. “Thank you for your support, too.”

“Anything for a friend of my daughter’s. I should return to my duties now. Take care, and good luck with finding your benefits.” With that, the Great Sage walked away.

The thief nodded, feeling it would be much easier… and at that moment, a card fluttered down into his grasp. “What’s it say?” WG asked.

_“Benefit #2 (Swaine):The Bonds of Friends_

_Many nagai are rebuked and abhorred for their appearance, often due to tales of wretched lamias who would use their cunning to harm others._

_However, a naga is known for the size of their heart, something which can only be displayed through the company he keeps--- most notably, the friends he cares for. And if those friends care much for the naga as well, the words of others matter not, for a naga’s friendship makes them as human as anyone else._

_Perhaps, even more so.”_

Oliver nudged Swaine, giving him the ‘See? I told you so,’ look. Swaine rolled his eyes and smiled, tussling his hair.

“Tidy! Just one more benefit to go, an’ you’re free mun!” Drippy exclaimed, hopping on his shoulder.

“Well, yeah… I-I mean, I figured this would be a benefit all along. I just wondered when the card would show up,” Swaine scoffed.

WG gently punched him in the arm. “Get over yourself, Swainaga,” she said.

“Swainaga?”

“I’m sampling nicknames for you while the curse is in effect.”

“Oi, I was gonna call him Snake-Butt,” Drippy replied.

“Drippy, you said it wrong! …It should be Snek-Butt,”

“The flippin’ heck’s th’ difference?!”

“The other sounds cuter.”

“It en’t supposed to be cute, it’s supposed to be funny! Like… AnaGasconda!”

“Porcine Python Prince?”

“Klepto-Cobra! …No, wait, Rattlesnake Rogue! Agh, no, that makes no sense...”

“Sexy bitch! …no, wait, I always call him that.”

Swaine rolled his eyes. “Alright, you’re pushing the limit!” he sneered.

“Sorry, mun/Apologies,” Drippy and WG both stated.

“C’mon, lets head back to the Inn. It’s starting to get dark now,” Oliver suggested, and the group made their way down the street.

Esther walked beside WG, giving her a curious look and grin. “’Sexy _what’?”_ she asked with a snicker.

“Just drop it,” WG scoffed, smirking.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Back at the Inn, Swaine told his friends about what all happened since his transformation--- a little squeamish when bringing up his impulses. (“Don’t worry, mun--- I’ve seen super models at buffets who had less control!” Drippy had joked to make him feel better). When the sun had gone down, Oliver and Esther claimed it was time they went home, Drippy following them out the door, each of them promising to be back the next day.

WG asked him if there was anything else she could do for him before returning to her room. Swaine, even without naga-senses, could tell she wanted to stay. “If you want to share a room, just say so.” He said with light humor in his tone.

“Nah, I’ve already got my stuff over in Khunbish’s room. Gotta make use of these rooms--- if everyone keeps leaving them empty every other night, chances are they’ll be marked as vacant.” She began to walk towards the door.

A snake-tail wrapped around her waist, and she found herself being lifted up! All of a sudden she slipped and was caught by the ankle, being held upside-down in front of Swaine, who was giving her the ‘Yeah right’ look. “WG. I know you want to stick around. Don’t make excuses.”

She blushed, but crossed her arms, giving him a look in return. “Well… I figured you’d want your space. You’re normally the solitary type--- can you put me down? I’m getting a headache,”

Swaine grabbed her by the stomach and lifted her until she was right-side up, setting her back on the ground. “Yeah, I like my solitude when I’m human… but not when I’m--- _this_.” He motioned to his tail, before coiling up on the mattress. “It sucks… I want my privacy, but when I’m alone like this--- I just get uneasy. I’ve been having nightmares every night, worried about losing control at some point whether I’m awake or asleep, or just…”

“Stop,” WG walked over, stepping into his coils and giving him a hug. He was afraid to be alone, and this was the best solution she could think of. “Let me hold you until you feel better, okay?”

The thief let out a heavy sigh, but hugged her back tightly; as if by instinct or impulse, his coils wrapped around her, the tip of his tail looping around her palm as if by means of holding her hand. “Heh… you’ll be hanging on for a while then,”

She only caressed the tip of his tail with her thumb, the action soothing to him as he held her against his chest; she didn’t even flinch when his coils gave her a gentle squeeze--- she only hugged him back tighter. He rested his chin on her head--- if anyone had told him a week ago he would be hugging the psychotic fangirl, he would have shot them point-blank in the face. He wouldn’t tell anyone about it, of course, but for now it didn’t matter. Khunbish had a point the first night when he said it would be better not to spend the late evenings in a cursed state alone, and he had to admit it felt comforting to know someone was nearby if his anxiety crept up on him again.

Something stirred within him just then, and he was forced to pull away from the hug. “Hold on… gotta, um…” he said, thumbing to the bathroom.

“Oh, yeah. Go ahead,” WG said, sitting on the bed while he slithered into the bathroom, the door only shut partially as his tail was in the way. She looked at her phone, deciding to check her messages in the meantime.

**_“GAAAH!”_ **

Giving a jolt, the authoress raced over to the bathroom. “Swaine! What---“ she looked in for three seconds.

“Don’t look! DON’T LOOK!”

“GAH! Sorry! I didn’t see anything! I didn’t see anything!” She stumbled away from the door, listening as the thief pulled his whole tail in to slam the door shut. She took this moment to turn to the audience, mouthing the words, _‘I saw EVERYTHING,’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Got that joke from Mel Brook's "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" flick XD) ...Well, now Ryuji and I BOTH have that stuck in our minds forever. 
> 
> And yaaay, Sexy B-- I mean, Swaine found his second benefit! Who would've thought Drippy would be the one to initiate it?? ...well, unless you count Oliver and Esther's assurance in a previous chapter, but you get my drift. 
> 
> Also, the 'How does he DO that?' line is based off that recurring line in Muppet Treasure Island.
> 
> And if anyone cares, Rickshaw is a half-dragon Pomeranian, and Rodolfo is a ferret. Also kudos to ATF for knowing some snek facts! :D
> 
> Okay, now review. Seriously. Like, this story has 300+ hits and only 2 people left a review. I'll give you cookies! (...unless you're a troll, then I'll just give you a brick to the face and a rabid badger down the pants. ...Been a while since I've used that threat. Ahh, the good ol' days of fanfiction...)


	24. Friends with Benefits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Yes I just did that.

After making a vow to not speak of the awkward incident, and doing a bit of reading from the books the authoress checked out, WG and Swaine eventually decided to go to bed. She was kind enough to let him have some space, allowing him to rest in his coils; she even set it up to where most of the pillows were stacked inside and around his coils while covering him with a couple blankets, bringing up how she used to do things like this with her nieces and nephews all the time, before grabbing her own pillow and blanket to rest on the mattress.

Swaine couldn’t bring himself to sleep, however. For one thing, he had already slept most of the day, not to mention didn’t want to risk another nightmare. Looking at the authoress, he remembered the reassurance she gave him, knowing that if dark visions invaded his subconscious and caused him to do something regrettable, she would be nearby to snap him out of it.

…

He did not recall the dream he had, but by the next morning he found himself hugging a pillow tightly, his tail wrapped around others like a burrito, though he was still covered by blankets as if someone had covered him back up again. Over at a table drinking some coffee, WG was at her laptop.

Swaine stretched, slithering over; it was 8 o’clock in the morning, and already the room felt warm due to the desert climate. “Morning,” he said, stretching again to get the remaining sleep out of his system.

“Oh, morning. I figured you’d be sleeping in.” WG stated, looking away from her laptop for a moment.

“Yeah, but I think I got more than enough sleep yesterday.”

“That’s good. Are you hungry, yet?”

He shook his head; the mere thought of food right now made him feel bloated. “Naaah, I’ll wait until tomorrow.” He looked over her shoulder. “What are you working on?”

“Just working on updating some fics on hiatus. Remind me not to start a new fic before one is complete, heh.”

Swaine rolled his eyes. “Like that habit of yours will ever die.” He leaned against the table. “So… what are your plans for today?”

“I’m going to go check on my pets over at my brother’s, then I’m going to go visit Ryuji and the others.” The authoress looked at her watch. “They normally go to rehearsals around 4 o’clock after school, from what Junpei told me. What are you going to do today?”

Swaine shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe see if Esther and Oliver want to hang around, see if I can find my last benefit… Maybe I’ll come with you when you go see the boys--- we’ll have to bring Khunbish back, anyway.”

WG smiled, letting out a sigh. “If he _wants_ to come back, you mean. The way he was acting last night, you’d think he’d want to guard Ryuji 24/7!”

“Ha, you should have seen him yesterday--- he actually sprouted fangs and his eyes were glowing! You’d think someone had threatened his family or something!”

“Really?” WG picked up one of the books, flipping through it; she picked up another and did the same, until she found what she was looking for. “’When on the defense, a naga will stick out its fangs; when their eyes glow, it is best not to make eye-contact as their gaze can stun you; some nagai have the capability of injecting their foes with venom, so it is best to not trifle with them.’ (lets see, kinds of naga… aha, here we go) ‘Types of naga…’”

Swaine arched an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“Seeing if there’s an easy way to know whether you guys are venomous or not… According to this, nagai with striped or spotted scales are likely to be most venomous, but green-scaled nagai like you lack venom.”

“And Khunbish?”

“That’s what I’m looking for… his scales are bluish-green, but its not listed here. Hm. …I’ll check with Anti. He could probably pinpoint the type of snake species he is and give me a notion.”

Swaine rolled his eyes. “In that case, lets hope he doesn’t bite anyone,” He looked out the window; there was a nice view of Old Smoky in the distance. “Think I’ll go find Esther, see if she wants to go outside the city,”

“I’ll come with you--- just in case that harpy from yesterday is still around,”

The two exited the Inn; coincidentally enough, Esther was on her way to the Inn, Oliver and Drippy at her side. “We were just on our way to come see you. None of us wanted to wait another minute to check on you,” Oliver told him, having a smile.

“You know, normally it’s the _adults_ who have to check on the kids,” Swaine remarked.

“And when you start acting like one, I’m sure you’ll be checking on us next,” Esther quipped, earning a sneer in response.

“So! What’s on the agenda today, Snake-Butt?” Drippy asked.

The thief gave him a deadpanned look. “Well to start off, strangle anyone who calls me ‘Snake-Butt’.” He replied.

“Agh, it’s just a nickname, mun! Think this curse made ye too sensitive--- didn’t we already help ya overcome that yesterday?”

“What do you feel like doing?” Oliver asked Swaine before a quarrel could break out.

Swaine looked towards the city gates. “I feel like going out into the desert and just roaming around… I can show you guys my new battle skills, while I’m at it.”

“Tidy! Lets see what ye got!” Drippy exclaimed.

“I’ll leave you to it. See you this afternoon!” WG said with a wave, walking through a portal. It was open for a moment, just in time for everyone to hear the authoress say, “Crap, this is Mexico---“ before the portal shut.

Swaine shook his head, chuckling; Esther looked up at him. “What was that about?” she inquired as they walked along.

“What do you mean?” The thief questioned back.

“Well, normally you’re relieved to see WG gone. But lately you’ve been more… _tolerable_ with her company--- at least that’s the best way I can put it.”

“Aye, mun. Ye even went into the Vault o’ Tears with her ‘n’ company--- normally ye’d tell her to buzz off an’ explore by herself!” Drippy added.

Swaine rolled his eyes. “So? That crazy fangirl of mine probably wouldn’t leave me alone if I didn’t go along. And I’ve probably grown to ‘tolerate’ her because I’ve been exposed to her psychopathic writing too much--- which should be a concern, now that I think about it.”

Esther rolled her eyes. “Forget I asked. …Oh! Look! There’s a Clubber Cub! Derwin wanted me to tame one for him to examine!” She took off after it.

“Oi! Wait up for us, lass!” Drippy exclaimed, hopping ahead of the others.

Oliver looked at Swaine. Their enemy was a low-level, so there wasn’t much need to rush into battle alongside their companions. “So… what’s the real reason?” he asked the thief in a whisper.

“I told you. I’ve just gotten used to her being a nuisance--- now, lets not leave Esther hanging, huh?” Swaine answered. The wizard nodded, running ahead.

The thief sighed. There was another reason, but he promised the authoress not to cause concern…

_*Bang!*_

_His grappling hook caught her by the ankle, making the blonde stumble and fall onto her stomach before she got too close to the window. The line reeled in as he approached her, grabbing her arm and hauling her to her feet. “What the hell are you doing?!” he snapped; he was never good with sensitive emotions, he knew being aggressive wasn’t the right express for his concern, but he could not control it--- it was how he grew up._

_She didn’t reply; her jaw was clenched, she was trying hard not to break down. She looked down, as if knowing if she spoke or made eye-contact, her tears would break loose. She didn’t want him to see her cry._

_But he didn’t care about her saving face. He knelt down so they were at eye level, his hands on her shoulders. “Wherever Girl. Look at me. What is going on? Why were you going to jump out that window?”_

_She was starting to shake now, straining not to cry._

_“Answer me! …Or should I go find Puggsy?”_

_Puggsy had known WG far longer than he had; he knew from her fan-fic history that the loudmouth was one of few people who could get her to open up… as well as was the first to find out about her last ‘incident’._

_She shook her head. “He’s not here…” she whispered. “I-I just texted him. He’s out with Brielle… I didn’t want to ruin their d-date,” tears were squeezing out her eyelids, and she was holding her breath._

_Swaine looked around the hall; seeing a set of double-doors that led to the library, he took her in there. With all the new technology being made, very few people seldom used to the library anymore, the vicinity void of life. They sat down on a red leather couch far in the back; he kept a hand on her shoulder. “Alright. Now tell me what’s wrong,”_

_She squeezed the edge of the couch cushions, her body tensing. “I...”_

“Ohhh, I didn’t get it,” Esther sighed, crossing her arms after the Clubber Cub disappeared in a puff of smoke post-defeat.

Swaine shook his head, snapping back to the present. “You should try fighting with a lower-leveled familiar, then. Something closer to their rank,” he suggested.

“C’mon, a lot of them hang around closer to the Golden Grove… oh. Um, it wouldn’t be too cold there, would it Mister Drippy?” Oliver questioned.

“Nah, mun, the Golden Grove mainly just gets heavy rains during this time o’ year. Helps keep the forest o’ plenty foresting plenty!” Drippy answered.

“Okay, but if you start to feel ill in any way, you tell is immediately, got it?” Esther told Swaine.

The thief nodded. “I should be fine,” he replied.

They made their way towards the outskirts of the desert towards fields with golden-yellow grass. With his keen eyesight, Swaine managed to spot a couple Clubber Cubs. Summoning a Minor Byrde and Ruff that were close to their level, Esther and Oliver took to the battlefield. A couple Boneheads tried to ambush them in the fray, but with a swing of his tail Swaine smacked them hard enough to make them dissipate before they could even hit the ground.

One of the Clubber Cubs got a loopy look in its eye, and Esther began to strum her harp to tame it.

Swaine froze, and his vision went hazy; the world suddenly had a blend of orange, yellow, pink and purple tones to it, and suddenly he just felt… _calm._ His body relaxed as if he had spent a week lounging in Castaway Cove, and he felt himself smiling, his mind groggy as if he were having a pleasant dream; when he moved, he swayed, nothing but a melodious rhythm to guide him.

“Oi, Swaine! What’s up with ya, mun?!” Drippy’s voice hollered.

The music stopped and Swaine shook his head; the others were looking at him, Oliver trying to cover a grin while Esther was stifling a giggle. He blinked several times. “…What was I just doing?” he asked, feeling alarmed.

“I-I’m sorry, Swaine! I forgot how sensitive you were to music now,” Esther replied, chuckling a bit.

“What’s so funny?”

“Well… you were kind of… dancing. I think.” Oliver answered, clearing his throat.

“Looked more like he stepped outta a bar, completely plastered.” Drippy remarked.

Swaine blushed furiously, crossing his arms. “Dammit, didn’t I say not to make me do that?!” he snapped at Esther.

“It was an accident! Honestly, with you being tone-deaf, I didn’t think it would happen at all.” Esther replied, rubbing the back of her neck. “I won’t play my harp around you until you’re human again… you were kind of out of it.”

“Yeah. We may have to watch for that, in case any enemies can use Lullaby skills,” Oliver added. “You might be more prone to those kinds of attacks,”

Swaine sighed. “So much for finding a benefit out here…” he muttered.

“Wait! In that story, Ditelas plugged his ears so he wouldn’t be susceptible to music! We could do that!” Esther suggested.

“But how could I hear the rest of you? Suppose some---“ He froze just then.

“Swaine? What is it?” Oliver asked in caution.

Without hesitation, Swaine quickly wrapped around the group and pulled them up on top of a rock. There came a stampeding sound, and a minute later a herd of wild ulk came running by! “Ulk? Way out here?” Oliver gasped.

“Oh, aye. Forgot ‘round this time the herd migrates to a warmer climate.” Drippy answered, and they watched as the herd headed towards an open field over the hill. “It may not snow by there, but the weather gets chilly over in the dell. The herds mostly linger around the Grove or out in the open field here, ‘til their senses tell ‘em it’s nice ‘n’ warm back home.”

Esther looked up at Swaine; he had a sharp gaze in his eye. “Swaine… that was incredible!” she said to him. “You could tell the herd was coming before the ground even started to shake!”

But Swaine remained tense, keeping everyone in his coils.

“Swaine?”

There came a bellow, and out of the forest came a rogue Ulk. It was foaming at the mouth, bucking wildly. It charged into everything--- trees, boulders, and other creatures. “Crikey! It’s completely mad!” Drippy gasped.

When it came rushing at the rock the group was on, Swaine shot forth and wrapped around its neck, grabbing onto its antlers; he stretched its tail further down to catch one of its legs, making it stumble and fall. His coils continued to squeeze around its neck until the massive beast disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The thief panted, finally relaxing. His friends climbed off the rock and rushed over to him. “Are you okay? You just… leaped out at it!” Oliver stated, astounded.

“I know… I don’t know what came over me. I could just sense something wasn’t right, and my first instinct was to protect you lot. Then when it came too close--- I just attacked.” Swaine answered, his shoulders slumped.

“So you just wanted to keep us safe. …That’s great! That could be another benefit!” Esther exclaimed.

However when a card failed to appear, Oliver noticed the solemn expression on Swaine’s face. “Um… did you already have that benefit before?” Oliver asked him.

Swaine shook his head. “I wish I could call it a benefit… I mean, I’m glad I kept you lot safe, but…” he clenched his fists. “I had no control over it! It was all on impulse! It wasn’t _me_ defending you, it was the curse!”

The wizard walked up to him, grabbing his hands. “Impulse or not, you still protected us! That’s what matters right now,”

“Right! That curse had nothing to do with it--- you always have our backs, no matter what situation you’re in!” Esther added.

Swaine let out a heavy sigh, pulling his hands away from Oliver as he ‘paced’ around. “You don’t get it… I… I want to feel like I have control again. Ever since this curse started--- I just feel like I’m Heartbroken again, having no say as to what I can or cannot do. Every action I do, I do out of some intense emotion--- the other day I was hungry, and tried to hunt an innocent pup; after that I was having a bitter nightmare, almost attacking Esther in my sleep… Hell, Day One I almost strangled Junpei just talking about the cause of my phobia!”

“God forbid ye find yerself attracted to a fine maiden then, eh?” Drippy joked.

“Mister Drippy!” Esther snapped, appalled.

“Joking! I’m joking! Geez, give a fairy credit fer tryin’ to lighten up the tension!”

Swaine ignored the fairy. “I know I protected you all just now… but I was driven by some wild instinct. I don’t know what all these impulses will make me do--- so that’s why I can’t see this as a benefit.” They headed back to the desert, as he continued. “Suppose I’m like that in every battle? I wouldn’t be able to concentrate properly and the enemy could get the upper hand.”

Oliver patted him on the back. “I don’t think that would happen, Swaine… but if you really feel strongly about this, then we’ll keep looking for a new benefit for you.”

“If it makes you feel better, we really felt safe with you back there.” Esther added while hugging his arm.

“Aye, ye guarded us like a mother-croc guards her eggs!” Drippy threw in.

Swaine blushed rubbing the back of his head. “Well, I’m glad you lot think so…” he smirked, having to boast. “Heh, actually its about time you recognized how much trouble I go through taking care of you,”

Esther rolled her eyes. “Alright, Swaine, thank you for being a good guardian.”

“I sensed that sarcasm!”

A card fluttered down before them just then. “Tidy! Another benefit card!” Drippy exclaimed.

“What’s it say, Swaine?” Oliver asked as the naga-thief picked it up.

_“Advantage of Friends:_

_Having a naga around to guard you is quite the privilege.”_

“That’s it?” Swaine questioned. He looked at himself. “But… why isn’t my curse broken!?”

“It says ‘Advantage of Friends’… perhaps this relates more to us than you.” Esther theorized.

“Aye, since ye didn’t find much reason to like what happened back there,” Drippy scoffed.

“It may also relate to Ryuji… You said Khunbish rushed to protect him from someone, and he even stayed overnight to make sure he and his mom would be safe.” Oliver added.

Swaine sighed. “I guess… but why would it appear for our friends? A-And why didn’t Khunbish get one the moment he defended Ryuji?”

“I don’t know… I mean, we were shocked when we learned about your curse, but that doesn’t mean we found it deplorable,” Esther said, just as confused.

“Maybe it’s just a bonus, or our own reward for our support… I dunno, mun. This curse is a tricky one to fathom!” Drippy groaned.

Swaine tucked the card away, sighing. “That’s something we can all agree on.”

A portal opened, and WG came through, meeting them at the gate; she had bags filled with souvenirs. “Oh, hey guys. I was about to drop some stuff off,” she stated.

“Where did you go?” Esther asked, having to chuckle at all the products.

“Well, I went to check on my pets… but along the way I made detours to Switzerland, Egypt, Australia, Canada, until finally getting to my brother’s apartment.” She held up the bags. “Anyone want a plushie and/or chocolate?”

“Actually, maybe you can help us figure this out.” Oliver showed her the card and explained the situation.

WG rubbed her chin. “I was actually thinking about that. Swaine and Khunbish both got one advantage, each got their own second advantage, and now here’s one more that benefits their friends…”

“Well? Any thoughts?” Swaine asked.

“Call it a hunch, but maybe you guys have to find separate benefits? I mean the increase in skills and the advantage it has on friends may just be freebies… yet there was something else that we overlooked.”

“What is it? Spit it out already!”

“Calm down, don’t get your tail in a twist. …Khunbish had said if you kept despairing over your appearances, the curse would remain in effect.” WG paced a bit. “And in that story, Lamian turned human because he never minded being a naga.”

“Are you saying that… finding benefits won’t be enough?” Oliver asked in concern.

“Well, not unless Swaine becomes content with his appearance, at least. So it’s either finding separate benefits, or accepting being a naga… heck chances are they _both_ have to do this in order to free each other!”

*Thud!*

Everyone turned, seeing Swaine made a face-plant on the ground.

“…tell me, guys, did Swaine _ever_ faint this much?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick! Anyone NOT confused, raise your hand!


End file.
